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II 



SATURDAY MORNINGS 



ATURDAY 
MORNINGS 

A Little Girl's Experiments 
and Discoveries ; or. How Margaret 
Learned to Keep House .^ m* -h* 




By 

Caroline French Benton 

AUTHOR OF 
**A LITTLE COOK BOOK FOR A LITTLE GIRL" 



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Boston ^ DANA ESTES & 
COMPANY ^ Publishers 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two CoDies Received 

MAR 28 1906 

j^ Copyriffht Entry 
CLASS Ci, XXc. No, 
COPY B. 



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Copyrighty igo6 
By Dana Estes & Company 

All rights reserved 



SATUI^DAY MORNINGS 



COLONIAL PRESS 

Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Sitnonds &* Co. 

Boston^ U.S. A, 



Thanks are due the editor of Good 
Housekeeping for permission to reproduce 
the greater part of this book from the 
serial in that magazine. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Margaret's Christmas Tree . . 13 
II. The Kitchen Fire . . . .19 

III. The Dining-room Table ... 38 

IV. Washing Dishes 57 

V. The Care of the Bedrooms . . 70 

VI. Sweeping and Dusting. ... 84 
VII. The Bathroom ; Brasses, Grates, Oil- 
cloths, and Vestibule ... 99 
VIII. Housecleaning ; Cellar and Attic . 110 

IX. Laundry Work 122 

X. The Linen Closet ; Pantries ; Polish- 
ing Silver ; the Care of the Re- 
frigerator ; Cleaning the Lamps . 133 
XL Marketing and Keeping Accounts . 148 
XII. The Day's Work 161 



SATURDAY MORNINGS 



CHAPTER I 



MARGAEET^S CHRISTMAS TREE 



About Christmas time Margaret was ac- 
customed to see things tucked out of sight 
whenever she came around, and her feel- 
ings were never hurt when her Pretty Aunt, 
or her Other Aunt, or her mother, or her 
grandmother said: " Don't you want to 
run down-stairs a little while, dear? " or, 
'' Margaret, would you mind staying out 
of the sitting-room all this morning? " 
But this Christmas everybody said these 
things twice as often as usual, and Mar- 
garet wondered about it. 

" Mother," she said one day, ^' if you 
were a little girl and every one said ' Run 
away, now,' over and over, twice as many 

13 



14 Saturday Mornings 

times as other Christmases, what would 
you think? " 

Her mother laughed. ' ' Well, ' ' she said, 
'^ I suppose I should think I was going to 
have twice as many presents as usual. ' ' 

Margaret drew a long breath. ^ ' Would 
you? " she asked, thoughtfully. '' Two 
pairs of skates, and two sets of furs, and 
two boxes of handkerchiefs, and two pink 
kimonos, and six books; that would be 
twice as many presents as last year. But 
what does one little girl want with twos? 
Now if I was twins — " 

The Pretty Aunt laughed. ' ' Let me ex- 
plain it to her," she said. ^^ Margaret, 
how would you like two Christmas trees, 
one for everybody, just as usual, with your 
presents on it, and one little tree, all for 
yourself, with mare presents? Would you 
like that for a change ? ' ' 

Margaret said she thought she would, 
but it seemed very queer. Two trees, and 
only one little girl ! Now if she really had 
been twins — 

^' Twins, indeed! " said the Other Aunt. 



Margaret's Christmas Tree 15 

'' Just wait till you see, and perhaps you 
will be glad there's only one of you! " 
And everybody laughed again except Mar- 
garet, who thought it all very queer in- 
deed. 

When Christmas morning came she 
jumped up in a hurry and waked every one 
up calling out, ' ' Merry Christmas ! ' ' and 
then she danced with impatience because 
it took them so long to get ready. But at 
last the doors of the parlor were thrown 
open and she rushed in. There stood the 
great, beautiful tree, hung with tinsel and 
bright balls, and twinkling with beautiful 
lights, and on its branches were bundles 
and bundles, tied with red ribbons and 
holly, and on the floor were more bundles, 
and she forgot about the little tree she had 
meant to look for. But by and by, when 
she had opened all her presents, and made 
a pile of them on the piano, and thanked 
everybody for them, she whispered: 

^^ Mother, was there to be a little tree 
all for me? " 

<< Why, of course," said her mother. 



16 Saturday Mornings 

smiling, '' we nearly forgot, didn't we? 
Suppose you look behind the library 
door? " 

Margaret ran and looked, and, sure 
enough, there was the tree, but such a 
queer one ! It was small, and had no can- 
dles and no ornaments. The corner was 
dark and she could not see very well, but 
it seemed to be hung with things that 
looked like dust-pans and whisk-brooms. 
She stood looking at it, wondering if it 
was all a joke. 

Just then her father saw her and came 
to pull the tree out where she could see it, 
and, sure enough, there was a dust-pan tied 
on with a red tape, and a whisk-broom 
with another red tape, and a little sweep- 
ing-cap with a red bow, some gingham 
aprons and white aprons, and brown 
towels and red-and-white towels, and dust- 
cloths, all with red M's in their corners; 
and put at the top was a little book tied 
on the tree with a big red bow. Her 
mother took this down and handed it to 
her, and every one stood and looked on 



Margaret *s Christmas Tree 17 

and smiled because she was so surprised. 
When Margaret looked at the cover of the 
book she knew what was inside in a minute, 
because, painted on the cover was a little 
girl who looked just like her with a big 
apron on, and a sweeping-cap, holding 
a broom in one hand and a dust-pan in the 
other, and above, in bright red letters, 
were the words, Saturday Mornings. 

' ' Oh, it 's for me ! " she cried, delighted. 
" It's like my own cook-book, only it tells 
how to clean house instead of cook. I love 
to clean house ! I love to make beds ! I 
love to wash dishes ! I just love to sweep ! 
May I wear that beautiful cap, and are 
all those dish-towels for me, and is that 
my very own dust-pan? " Then she ran 
to the tree and got everything down. First 
she put on all the aprons, one on top of 
another, with the ruffled waiting-on-table 
apron on top of the rest, and she put the 
cap on her head, and hung all the dish- 
towels over one arm and all the dusters 
over the other, and gathered up the brooms 



18 Saturday Mornings 

and dust-pan in her arms and sat down in 
a corner with her book. 

'' This is the best of all," she said, 
soberly. " My other presents are lovely, 
too, my books and my gold heart pin, and 
my white rocking-chair for my own room, 
and the mittens grandmother knit for me 
with the lace stitches down the back, but I 
like my little book best, and all the things 
on my own little tree most. This is the 
nicest Christmas I ever, ever had! The 
name of my book is Saturday Mornings, 
because other days I have to go to school, 
but Saturdays I can sweep and dust and 
wash dishes. What fun it will be ! I don't 
know which chapter sounds best." She 
hugged the little dust-pan and shook out 
the dish-towels. " Oh, I just can't wait to 
begin," she said/ 



CHAPTER II 

THE KITCHEN FIBB 

Although Margaret had become pretty 
well acquainted with the kitchen during 
the year she was learning to cook she had 
never quite understood how to manage the 
kitchen range or the fire, because Bridget 
always attended to that part for her. But 
at the very first lesson in the Saturday 
Morning Class her mother, who was to be 
the teacher that day, said the subject 
would be " Ranges and Fires," because it 
was the beginning of all housekeeping. 

Margaret put on her biggest, longest- 
sleeved gingham apron, got a hearth brush, 
a dust-pan, the little dish which held the 
stove blacking, brush and polisher, rolled 
up her sleeves and prepared to listen. 

'' The reason why so many women find 

19 



20 Saturday Mornings 

cooking hard work/' her mother began, 
" is because they do not understand their 
range or stove. They cannot make a fire 
grow hot quickly, or make it cooler if it is 
too hot ; they do not know how to get what 
the cook-books call a ' moderate oven.' 
' We never could understand about drafts 
and things, ' they say, but the real truth of 
the matter is that they are too lazy to try 
and learn, I'm afraid, because it is so very 
simple that even a little girl can learn 
about it in ten minutes. The only way to 
be a good housekeeper is to understand all 
about a fire and how to keep a kitchen 
range in a good temper. ' ' 

Margaret laughed at this, but her mother 
said stoves were just like people, and 
sometimes would refuse to do as they were 
told, and were cross and sulky; but thej 
could be as pleasant and smiling and 
obliging as a good little girl. Then she 
took off the covers and explained all about 
the inside of the range. " You see," she 
began, '' the fire is in a sort of box lined 
with heavy brick. Now, if the coals come 



The Kitchen Fire 21 

up to the very top of this, or lie on its 
edges, they will crack the brick as they 
get heated, and so spoil it, and fire-brick 
is very expensive and troublesome to re- 
place. You can heat the sides and bottom 
very hot, and it will not hurt it, but not the 
top edges. So, in putting on coal you 
must never let it quite fill the box, and 
after you set the scuttle down on the floor 
you must take the long poker and feel all 
around on top of the ovens and see if any 
bit has rolled there, and bring it back 
where it belongs. If it should roll down 
the sides you could not get it out, and it 
would spoil the draft and injure the stove. 
Now if you understand all this we will 
shake out the coal and make a new fire." 

'' Oh, let me shake! " exclaimed Mar- 
garet, and before her mother could stop 
her she had put in the shaker and moved 
it about so quickly that the ashes came 
out of the open covers and drafts and 
filled the room, and both she and her 
mother were coughing and choking. 

Her mother stopped her. " That isn't 



22 Saturday Mornings 

the way to shake a fire, ' ' she said. ' ' The 
covers must all go on first, and everything 
be shut up tight." Then she showed her 
the two slides over the oven doors, and 
the others in front, and pushed them shut. 
The two in the stovepipe were opened, so 
the ashes could go up that way, and the 
covers were tightly put in their places. 
*^ Now," she said, " you may shake." 

So Margaret shook and shook until her 
arms were tired, but though the fine ashes 
all came out, there was a handful of large 
coals which would not go through the 
grate. These, her mother explained, were 
partly good, unburned coal, and partly 
poor, hard bits, called clinkers. Some 
people just turned them all out with the 
ashes and threw them away, but this was 
wasteful. They noist be picked over and 
the good bits burned again. Margaret 
hunted up a big pair of old gloves of her 
father's, and with these on she picked out 
the good pieces of coal and laid them on 
one side, and then she tipped the grate by 
turning the stove handle quite around, and 



The Kitchen Fire 23 

the clinkers all fell into the ash-pan and 
the grate was left empty. A big news- 
paper was next spread on the floor and the 
ash-pan carefully drawn out over it and 
emptied into a scuttle kept ready for this, 
so it could be easily carried to the place 
where the ashes were kept, and emptied 
into the can there. She put the empty pan 
on the paper, and with her brush swept 
out all the cracks inside the stove, up and 
down, here and there, till no ashes were to 
be seen anywhere. Then the pan was put 
back. The ovens were opened next, and 
these, too, swept out with a clean whisk- 
broom, and away back in the corners they 
found several bits of toast and such things 
all dried to a crisp, which Bridget had not 
seen at all. When all the ashes were taken 
up and those on the newspaper cleared 
away, her mother said, ^^ Now we are 
ready for the fire." 

'' First we put a crumpled paper on the 
bottom; on this we lay crossed sticks of 
kindling, a good many, because this is to 
be a coal fire; if we were going to burn 



24 Saturday Mornings 

wood we would not need so many; we 
must shut the little slide in the front of the 
stove directly before the fire, and open the 
one at the bottom, so the smoke will go up. 
Look and see if the two drafts in the pipe 
are open; if not, the room will be full 
of smoke as soon as we start the kin- 
dling. The dampers into the ovens must 
be shut, too, so the fire will have nothing 
to distract its attention; if we left them 
open it would think it had not only to burn, 
but to get the ovens hot, too. Now if you 
are ready you can light the paper." 

In a moment Margaret heard the wood 
roaring well, then she took off a cover and 
sprinkled on one shovel of coal and closed 
the top again; as soon as she saw by peep- 
ing in that this was red, she put on an- 
other, scattering it evenly all around, and 
presently she added a third shovelful, and 
by this time the wood was well burned 
away and the coal was hot, so she knew 
the fire was made. 

The lesson then took up heating the 
ovens, which was still more important. 



The Kitchen Fire 25 

Her mother showed Margaret how to push 
in and out the dampers over the oven 
doors, and explained the shutter inside 
which they worked. " When we want the 
oven hot we pull the shutter open to let 
the heat go all around the oven. When 
we want to cool it we shut the shutter. 
The first thing to learn about a stove 
is this : find out whether the damper is 
pushed in or pulled out to heat the ovens ; 
you can tell by taking off the top covers 
and watching, for you can see in that way 
how the shutter works. Some push in 
and others pull out, and each stove may be 
different. These push in when you want 
to get the oven hot. Now, if you want to 
cook on top of the stove, and want all the 
heat up there, of course you do not need the 
ovens heated, so you shut them away. 
When you are all done with the fire never 
let it burn uselessly, but close it up, and so 
keep it. The reason of the draft in the 
front of the stove at the bottom, is this: 
the air rushes in up through the coal and 
on into the chimney, and makes the fire 



26 Saturday Mornings 

go hard. If you want to have it go slowly 
and not waste the coal, of course you must 
shut this tight. The other draft, di- 
rectly in front of the fire, lets the cool air 
right in on the hot coals, and keeps them 
from burning up rapidly, so if you want 
a hot fire you must shut this, and when 
you want the fire to go down you must 
open it. Is that plain ? ' ' 

'' Yes," said Margaret, thoughtfully. 
'' Wlien I bake I make the ovens hot by 
pushing in the dampers, and opening the 
slide at the bottom and shutting it at the 
top. When I want to make something on 
top, I pull out the dampers to get the 
ovens cool, and I open the one at the bot- 
tom and shut the one at the top. When 
I'm all done I leave the oven dampers out, 
shut the bottom draft in front and open 
the top one. Then the fire gets cool. But 
what do I do to the chimney dampers ? ' ' 

^' Sure enough,'' said her mother, '' we 
almost forgot those. You see the queer 
handles on them — thin and straight; 
those are like the flat plates inside the 



The Kitchen Fire 27 

pipe that turn just as they do. When you 
want the fire to burn hard you turn the 
handle along the pipe, and that turns the 
plate the same way, and the heat can get 
out and make a good draft. But if you 
are shutting up the fire you turn the handle 
across the pipe, and that makes the plate 
turn straight across, too, and stops the heat 
from getting out, and so the fire dies 
down. ' ' 

'' Oh, yes," said Margaret, '' that's easy 
to understand. But what do people do 
who don't have coal fires? Sometimes 
they have wood to burn." 

'' But the dampers and drafts all work 
the same way, ' ' said her mother. ^ ' Wood 
is nice and clean to burn, and makes a 
quick, hot fire, but it has to be watched all 
the time or it will go out. Coal makes a 
steady heat, and so for most things it is 
better to use. Now look in and see how 
things are going. ' ' 

Margaret raised the covers and found 
a bed of bright red coals. Her mother told 
her to put on coal at once ; if she waited the 



28 Saturday Mornings 

fire would grow still hotter, — what was 
called white hot, — and then it would be 
spoiled. Coal must always go on before 
this point, but not too much, which would 
be wasteful. A bright, low fire was always 
best. 

" Now leave the drafts all open just 
a moment,'' said her mother, " to let the 
coal gas burn away, and then you can shut 
the fire up and it will keep just right for 
hours. And one thing more — never let 
the coal come up near the covers of the 
stove, or the great heat will warp these and 
spoil them; they will always have cracks 
around their edges, and the heat will be 
wasted." 

'' Bridget never lets her fire go out at 
night," said Margaret, as she shut the 
fire all up. '^ SheJikes to keep it a whole 
week and then let the stove get cold and 
make it all over again on Saturdays. ' ' 

'^ Yes," said her mother, " that is a 
very good way to do, for it does not use 
up the kindling, and it takes no more coal 
to keep the fire all night than to start a 



The Kitchen Fire 29 

new one every morning. But if you ever 
notice how she manages you will see that 
she shakes out the ashes at night, puts on 
coal, and lets the gas burn off, just as we 
have done. Then she shuts up the oven 
drafts, and the one at the bottom, and 
opens the one in front of the fire as we 
did; in the morning she finds her fire 
exactly right; all she has to do is to 
make it a little brighter and hotter, so 
she shuts the draft in front of the coal 
and opens the one at the bottom, to get the 
air to rush up through the coal, and sets 
the drafts in the pipe open, too, so the 
hot air can get out; then when the fire 
burns up red she shakes out the ashes a 
little and puts on fresh coal, and it is ready 
for the day, and as hot as she wants it. ' ' 

^^ I don't see why she ever lets it go out 
at all," said Margaret. '' Why does it 
burn worse on Fridays, and have to be 
built all over on Saturdays 1 ' ' 

Her mother laughed. ^^ Why, you see," 
she said, " the ashes will get into the 
corners and the clinkers into the grate in 



30 Saturday Mornings 

spite of all the care one can take, so once 
a week she takes everything out as we have 
done and makes a nice, clean, new fire. 
But now we are all done except blacking 
the stove. Grenerally that ought to be done 
when the fire is not hot, but we were talk- 
ing and I did not have you do it then; 
next time we will manage better." 

Margaret wet the blacking a little, 
dipped in her brush, and scrubbed the stove 
well all over, especially in the corners. 
Then she polished it with the dry side of 
the brush till it shone like a mirror. The 
little knobs on the doors she rubbed with 
a bit of nickel polish she found in another 
box, and used a dry flannel cloth on them 
last. Her mother explained that it was 
necessary to keep a stove very bright and 
shining, or it would wear out, and, besides 
that, a bright one made the kitchen look 
tidy and attractive. ^^ Some people just 
paint the whole stove over once or twice a 
year with a black enamel, and never polish 
it at all, and perhaps that is a good way 
for very busy people to do, but I like the 



The Kitchen Fire 31 

old-fashioned way better myself. Sliine it 
a little every day in the week, and once in 
every few days give it a good thorough 
blacking and polishing when the fire is 
out, and you will make the stove wear a 
long time and keep it in good working 
order as well. A clean range, one that is 
really clean and well cared for inside and 
out, is always good-natured and happy, 
and does the very best it knows how for 
you when you try and cook, but one that is 
full of ashes and clinkers, with a face all 
grimy and dusty and gray, gets sullen and 
cross, and will not try and please anybody. 
You must keep it good-natured. Just see 
how proud and happy it looks now." 

Margaret smiled admiringly at the shiny 
range and bright fire. " Sometimes 
Bridget puts things in her stove that 
make all the house smell," she said. " I 
am never going to put anything into mine 
but nice, clean wood and coal." 

a The reason Bridget puts them in," 
her mother replied, ^Ms a good one. I 
often burn up small quantities of garbage 



32 Saturday Mornings 

myself, but I never have a bit of odor, for 
all I have to do is to open the drafts in 
the chimney and at the bottom, and shut 
those going into the ovens and the one in 
front of the fire, and then all the smell 
goes straight up the chimney. If you are 
careful you can often get rid of little things 
in the kitchen by burning them, but you 
should be sure and never let the odor get 
out into the room." 

Just then Bridget came into the kitchen 
and said it was time for her to get lunch. 

'' See, Bridget," Margaret exclaimed, 
proudly, ' ' we blacked the range and made 
it smile all over. It just loves to be clean 
and shiny ! ' ^ 

' ' It does that, ' ' said Bridget. ' ' 1 guess 
it'll bake sponge cakes for lunch to say it 
feels glad." 

'' Oh, goody! " said Margaret, as she ran 
to take off her big apron and wash her 
hands. 




CHAPTER III 

THE DINING - ROOM TABLE 

The second lesson in Margaret's book 
really took her a whole month to learn 
perfectly, because there were so many 
things to remember. One Saturday she 
studied about the breakfast-table, and dur- 
ing the next week she practised the lesson 
over every day; the next week she took 
the luncheon-table and laid that and waited 
on it, and the third and fourth weeks she 
learned all about the dinner-table, and 
that was hardest of all. But, as her mother 
said, if she learned in one single month to 
be a perfect waitress she was an unusually 
bright maid ! 

BREAKFAST 

The first Saturday morning her Other 
Aunt woke her rather early, and told her 

33 



34 Saturday Mornings 

after she was ready to put on a nice white 
apron and over it a fresh gingham apron 
to protect it, or, if she did not feel quite 
sure she could keep it fresh even so, to 
put on the gingham one and bring down the 
white one to put on when everything was 
ready. 

The dining-room was dark when they 
went into it, and smelled of the dinner the 
night before ; they threw open the windows 
and let the wind sweep through while 
Margaret got the carpet-sweeper^ and took 
up the few crumbs which had not been 
found and taken away after the last meal. 
Then they closed the windows again, and 
dusted about where it was necessary, leav- 
ing the thorough dusting until later in the 
day. 

'' We are going to have oranges for a 
first course at breakfast," said her aunt, 
coming in with some in her hands, ^ ' and 
we will put them on the table now. See 
how nice and cold they are because they 
have been in the refrigerator all night. 
Some people leave their fruit-dish standing 




The Dining-room Table 35 

on the sideboard all the time, and all the 
oranges and apples and bananas grow 
warm and stale, instead of being cold and 
crisp and refreshing. Put a white centre- 
piece in the middle of the table, and we will 
pile these in a flat dish on it instead of 
using the pot of ferns we sometimes have. 
It is always nice to have something pretty 
in the middle of the table." 

Margaret was standing before the 
drawer in the sideboard hesitating whether 
she should bring a table-cloth or not. 
Then she saw a large hemstitched square 
in a corner, and remembered that her 
mother had said she had just bought some 
new cloths for breakfast and luncheon, and 
that made it still harder to decide. What 
should they have on the breakfast-table? 
They usually had little squares of linen, 
one under each plate and larger ones under 
the platter and tray, but perhaps she was 
to learn some new way this morning. Her 
aunt came and looked over her shoulder. 

'' For breakfast and luncheon we do not 
use a table-cloth," she said. '' Few people 



36 Saturday Mornings 

do nowadays. Some use the doilies we 
have been using, and others use a small 
cloth with a fancy border, such as fringe, 
or a narrow pattern ; the dinner-cloth, you 
know, is large and hesivj, not suitable for 
a simple meal. But now we have some 
nice small cloths, which are less trouble to 
put on than the doilies. 'See, this is a 
square which lies on the table with a point 
hanging over each side, leaving the table 
corners bare. The plates go on it, but 
still it looks informal and pretty. Here is 
a pad just the right size to go under it. 
You must always put a pad or something of 
the kind under everything you use on the 
table ; under the doilies, you know, we put 
squares of felt, and under the big dinner- 
cloth a large piece of double Canton flan- 
nel ; if we did not, the varnish on the table- 
top would be spoiled in no time. Now let 
us get the silver. ' ' 

There were always six places laid at 
the table, so Margaret counted out the 
knives, forks and spoons, and brought them 
over from the drawer. At each place they 



The Dining-room Table 37 

put a knife on the right, the sharp edge of 
the blade toward the plate, and outside that 
a dessert-spoon for cereal and a teaspoon 
for coffee ; on the left was a fork, and then 
a napkin. At the top of the place, directly 
in front, they put a tumbler at the right 
and a small plate for bread and butter at 
the left, with a little knife, called a 
spreader, on it. They then got out small 
fruit-plates, and on each they laid first, a 
small, clean doily, then a finger-bowl with 
a little water in it, — not very much, as it 
was not intended to swim in, the aunt said, 
— and on the edge of the plate a fruit- 
knife and an orange spoon. These plates 
were laid all around the table at the dif- 
ferent places. At the top of the table 
where her father was to sit Margaret put 
a carving knife and fork, but took them 
away when she found there would be bacon 
for breakfast, and it would be passed 
around with a fork and spoon on the small 
platter ; if there had happened to be beef- 
steak she would have left them on, as then 
they would have been needed. 



38 Saturday Mornings 

At the other end of the table, where her 
mother was to sit, they put a tray covered 
with a fresh napkin, and arranged on it 
the sugar-bowl, the cream-pitcher, the 
tray-bowl, and a small pitcher for hot 
water. At the right near by, the cups and 
saucers were arranged, each cup standing 
in its own saucer, not piled up. As it was 
cold weather Margaret was told she must 
bring in hot water and half-fill them just 
before the meal was ready, so they would 
be hot and not chill the coffee ; her mother 
would empty the water in the tray-bowl 
when she was ready to use them. Then 
they brought out of the china-closet the 
dishes which were to go into the kitchen 
to be heated: the dish for cereal, the 
small, deep plates to use with it, the plates 
and vegetable dish, and the round platter. 

'^ Never serve a hot cereal in a cold 
dish, or use cold dishes to put it in on the 
table," said the aunt. '' And never, never 
ask anybody to eat hot bacon and potatoes, 
or anything else which has just come from 
the fire, on a cold plate. It is no trouble to 



The Dining-room Table 39 

warm everything, and it makes just the 
difference between a good meal and a 
poor one. A famous man once said that 
if he could have only one thing for his 
dinner he would choose a hot plate. ' ' Mar- 
garet laughed as she began to carry out the 
dishes. 

Her aunt stopped her. '' You have a 
dinner platter," she said, ^' get the pretty 
round platter; always use that for lunch- 
eon and breakfast, because it looks more 
informal, and seems more appropriate. 
And we must stop a minute to put on the 
salts; we forgot them." They did not 
have shakers, because Margaret's mother 
thought small, low, open silver or glass 
bowls were prettier; these they filled 
freshly with salt and shook them evenly, 
and placed them near the centrepiece at 
the ends of the table. They only put on 
two because the table was small; some- 
times, however, they used four or six, when 
guests were there. 

While the dishes were heating, and 
Bridget was getting breakfast ready, they 



40 Saturday Mornings 

filled the glasses and put the butter balls 
on the bread and butter plates ; then Mar- 
garet had her lesson in waiting on the 
table. 

" After we sit down," her aunt said, 
'' pass the fruit, going to each person's 
left, so he can take it with the right hand 
and hold the dish low down. Then put the 
dish back in the middle of the table, and 
leave it there through the meal. If there 
are flowers or a plant on the table, serve 
the fruit from the sideboard, and put it 
back there when you have passed it. If 
you have berries or melons to serve, those 
may be ready on the sideboard before 
breakfast, and a plate with a finger-bowl 
on it can stand at each place. The berries 
may be passed, and each person can lift off 
the finger-bowl and doily at the same time 
and set it near the plate and serve himself 
to the berries. Melons are usually set on 
the table before breakfast on each plate, 
the finger-bowl standing near by, but if 
you want to have it more elegantly ar- 
ranged than this, put the melons on small 



The Dining-room Table 41 

plates, and after the finger-bowl is re- 
moved, lay this plate down on top of the 
one standing already on the table. Just 
now it is considered very nice to nearly 
always have a plate in front of one. I will 
tell you more about that when we come to 
serving dinner. 

" You can have the hot plates brought 
into the room when the cereal comes in with 
its hot dishes, and you can lift off a fruit- 
plate, standing on each person's right, and 
lay down a hot plate with the small cereal 
dish already on it, and when all are around 
you can pass the cereal, and then the sugar 
and cream." 

" But," objected Margaret, '' I can't 
carry a tray and take off a plate and put 
down a plate all at once, because I don't 
have three hands, only just two! " 

'' No, of course not," smiled her 'aunt. 
'' But you don't use a tray in changing 
plates. You slip off the soiled one with the 
left hand and lay down the clean one with 
the right, holding this clean one over the 
other. It really saves time in the end to 



42 Saturday Mornings 

manage in this way, as you will see. After 
the cereal, if those small plates have been 
so good-sized as to well cover the hot 
plates underneath them and so protect 
them from cream, all you have to do 
is to take these off, leaving the larger 
plates, using your tray this time and 
standing always on the right; put the 
first dish on the tray and take the next in 
your hand and carry them to the side- 
board and leave them there and then take 
the next two, and so on ; never pile your 
plates. Then pass the bacon around, going 
to the left, as with the fruit, and then the 
potato and muffins. Bring the cups on the 
tray, as your mother fills them, and set 
them down carefully at each person's 
right; do not offer a cup to any one, be- 
cause coffee is so. easily spilled in taking 
it off and on a tray and handing it about. 
'^ Few people would ever have fruit, 
cereal, hot things, and then cakes, too ; but 
some day you may have fruit, bacon or 
meat, and then cakes, so you had better 
learn how to manage with them. Just have 



The Dining-room Table 43 

ready small, hot plates, and bring one at 
a time and exchange it with the meat plate 
as you did before; you must put on two 
forks instead of one at the left of each 
plate when you lay the table, if you are 
to have a second hot course. 

'' You do not take off the crumbs at 
breakfast because it is such an informal 
meal, but you must watch and see if any 
tumbler needs refilling, or if anybody 
needs a second butter ball, and supply it 
without being asked. The meat platter, the 
dish of potatoes, and the muffins or toast 
should also be offered twice to every one. 
Your mother, however, will ask if any one 
wants a second cup of coffee, and then you 
bring her the cup, and after she has rinsed 
it out by pouring in hot water from her 
little pitcher, she will fill it and j^ou can 
carry it back and set it down again. Now 
that is all, I think, and you can wash your 
hands and take off your gingham apron 
and ask*Bridget if you may call down the 
family; that is, if you may say to your 
mother, very quietly and politely, ^ Break- 



44 Saturday Mornings 

fast is served! ' " Margaret laughed, and 
smoothed down her nice crisp white apron 
proudly as she left the room. 

LTJNCHEOIiT 

Laying the luncheon-table proved to be 
exactly like laying the breakfast-table, and, 
as her aunt said, if they were laying a 
supper-table that would have also been 
done in the same way; so really all Mar- 
garet had to learn was how to lay two 
tables, one for breakfast, luncheon or sup- 
per, and one for dinner. 

However, her aunt thought they would 
use doilies instead of the lunch-cloth for a 
change, so Margaret would not think her 
lesson did not amount to much, and she 
got these out at lunch time and put one 
down for each pferson with its square of 
felt underneath it. In the middle she put 
a large doily which matched the others, and 
added one or two smaller ones, one for 
bread, one for a dish of olives, and so on, 
arranging them evenly on the table. She 
put a dish of ferns on for a centrepiece 



The Dining-room Table 45 

and a tray for tea for her mother at the 
end. 

'' If," said her aunt, '' you wish a 
formal luncheon you lay a pretty plate — 
a cold one — in front of each place, and 
exchange this for a hot one when you pass 
the main dish. But when you are just 
laying a family table you can put a hot 
plate down and merely pass the food as 
usual. You need not put the dishes of food 
on the table — just bring them from the 
sideboard. But remember at every meal 
never to let the food get cold. The vege- 
tables you. can keep in covered dishes, of 
course, but after you have passed every- 
thing so you can leave the room, carry the 
meat out and put it in the oven until you 
want to pass it a second time. 

'' If you are to have salad, have this 
ready on the sideboard before lunch, with 
its plates, and, if you are to have them, the 
crackers and cheese also. You can take off 
the soiled plates after the meat course, and 
lay down clean ones just as before, stand- 
ing at each person's right, taking off the 



46 



Saturday Mornings 



soiled plate with the left hand and laying 
down the clean one with the right, holding 
it above the other. Then pass the salad, 
on the tray to each one's left, and next the 
salad dressing or crackers or olives, or 
whatever goes with it. After the salad, 
crumb the table, both at luncheon and sup- 
per, but if you use doilies do not take the 
regular crumb-knife and tray, but carry a 
folded napkin in your right hand and 
gently sweep off the crumbs into the tray; 
a knife might scratch the table, and would 
certainly sound disagreeable against the 
wood. 

' ' The dessert, which may be fruit, should 
be ready before the meal on the sideboard, 
with the plates and finger-bowls. When 
the last course before it is taken off and 
the crumbs removed, there are no plates on 
the table at all ; it is the one time when it 
is cleared. So all you have to do is to lay 
down the plates and finger-bowls with the 
fruit-knives and spoons and pass the fruit. 
If you have cake, or preserves, or dessert 
of any kind instead of fruit, you do just the 



The Dining-room Table 47 

same way; lay down the plates and pass 
the things." 

" But what do I do with the tray and 
teacups! '' Margaret asked. 

'' Take them off when you do the last 
plates before the table is crumbed," said 
her aunt. ' ' Take off the bread and butter 
plates, too. A good way to do this is to 
take the large plate on the tray and carry 
the small one in the hand. Of course the 
large bread plate is removed, too, and any 
dish of jelly or olives which is done with. 
But dishes of salted nuts or candies are 
left on, to keep the table looking pretty. 
Now I really think that is all. Do you thinly 
you can serve luncheon as well as you did 
breakfast? " 

Margaret said she thought she ought to 
do twice as well, because it was really the 
same thing over again. 

DINNER 

If the lesson on dinner had come first 
Margaret would have thought it pretty 



48 Saturday Mornings 

hard, but after the other two she had just 
had, it seemed easy enough. 

This time she put on the large pad and 
the long, heavy dinner-cloth ; her aunt had 
to stand at the opposite end of the table 
and help her with these, and she warned 
her to always be very careful not to crease 
the cloth, because a mussed cloth was worse 
than none at all. 

" Be careful always to have table linen 
spotless," she said. " If anything gets on 
the cloth at dinner, as soon as the meal is 
over put a cup under the place and pour a 
tiny stream of hot water through and then 
rub the place gently with a clean, dry 
cloth and smooth it out with your hand; 
leave the cloth on the table till morning, 
and usually it will be smooth and dry; if 
not, take a flat-iron then and quickly and 
lightly iron the place; then fold the cloth 
and lay it away. Most people cannot 
have a new cloth on every night, but no one 
need ever have on a cloth that is not clean ; 
a good housekeeper never does, so of 



i 



The Dining-room Table 49 

course yon never will." Margaret said 
she certainly never would. 

" One reason why we use doilies or a 
lunch-cloth for breakfast and luncheon and 
supper is because if these get soiled it is 
easy to wash them out at once; it makes 
housework simpler in the end to have them 
instead of using table-cloths three times a 
day, which are large and very troublesome 
to wash. People who once learn to use 
them never go back to the old-fashioned 
way of doing. Now get a pretty centre- 
piece and put that on in the middle, and 
bring the bunch of roses from the parlor; 
we will have them to-night instead of the 
fern-dish, because we want an especially 
nice table for you. ' ' 

After the flowers were on the silver was 
laid, almost as at breakfast. A knife at 
the right, blade to the plate; a dessert- 
spoon beyond, for soup ; two forks at the 
left ; the bread and butter plate at the top, 
at the left, and the tumbler also at the top, 
to the right. If they were having a com- 
pany dinner, Margaret was told, the bread 



50 Saturday Mornings 

and butter plate would not be used, for 
then a dinner roll would be laid in the nap- 
kin and no butter served at all. The nap- 
kin, as before, went to the left, beyond the 
forks, and a large, cold plate was laid down 
between the silver. The salts were freshly 
filled and put on, and a glass dish for jelly 
at one end of the table. In front of her 
father's place they laid a carving cloth, and 
on it a large knife and fork, putting the 
tips on a little rest. 

Next they took the soup-plates, the din- 
ner-plates, the large platter and two vege- 
table dishes out into the kitchen to be made 
hot ; they also carried out the bread-plate, 
the salad-bowl, and the pudding-dish, as 
well as the after-dinner coffee-cups and 
saucers. Then they arranged the plates 
for salad on th^ sideboard, and the des- 
sert-plates, putting a dessert-spoon and 
fork for each person on these. Wliile the 
dinner was getting ready came the lesson 
in waiting, as before. 

'' You see we have laid down cold 
plates, ' ' the aunt said. ' ' Some people lay 




The Dining-room Table 51 

down hot ones, as we did at luncheon, but 
the soup is so likely to soil them that it is 
really hardly safe. Besides, dinner is a 
more formal meal than the others, so we 
must be more particular. When Bridget 
brings in the tureen she will stand it on the 
sideboard with the hot soup-plates, and you 
are to dip a spoonful of soup carefully in 
each plate and carry it on your tray to 
each person's right and set it down, — do 
not offer it on the left. When all are 
served, carry out the tureen. If we had 
no waitress of course your mother would 
serve the soup from the table, but this is 
the way we do when we are nicely waited 
on. 

'' When it is time to carry off the soup- 
plates, take your tray and go to each per- 
son's right and lift the plate, putting the 
first one on the tray and taking the next 
in your hand. Put them on the sideboard, 
and carry them out later, very quietly, but 
do not stop now. Leave the cold plate on 
the table still. Then bring in the hot 
plates and put them in a pile in front of 



52 Saturday Mornings 

the carver, slipping out his cold plate first. 
Bring in the vegetables and put them on 
the sideboard ; last of all bring in the meat 
and set it before the carver ; do not leave 
the room after the meat is on the table, for 
it will get cold. 

^ ^ As each plate is filled, take it to the 
first person served — your mother, if you 
are a family party, and either your mother 
or a woman guest first, if you have com- 
pany; some people always have the 
mother served first even if guests are 
present, and others prefer the other way; 
but always serve the ladies first, whether 
guests are there or not. Slip out the cold 
plate and lay down the hot one at the right, 
as you have before, and put the cold plates 
neatly in a pile on the sideboard. Pass the 
vegetables next, Qffering them at the left, 
and then the bread in the same way. While 
this course is eaten, carry out the soup- 
plates, if they are still on the sideboard, 
and fill the glasses. 

'' When all have finished take off the 
roast first and carry it out; then take off 



The Dining-room Table 53 

the soiled plates and lay down the salad- 
plates at the right, as you have done 
each time, and pass the salad to the left. 
Take off these when they are used, with 
the bread and butter plates, bread and 
jelly, and crumb the table, using the knife 
and tray. Then lay down before each one 
a dessert-plate with either a fork or a des- 
sert-spoon on it, or both, if the dish to come 
needs them; nowadays this is done even 
where the dessert is served at one end of 
the table. If you can, pass the pudding, 
or whatever the sweet is, so that each one 
can serve himself, offering it at the left, 
of course. If it is very soft, or is some- 
thing difficult for one to manage in this 
way, then have the dish put at one end of 
the table before your mother. She will 
put a portion on the plate before her, re- 
moving the spoon as she does so and laying 
it at one side, and you can set the plate 
down before the one you serve first, ex- 
changing the two plates; this person will 
also remove his spoon and lay it down as 
the plate is slipped away. Stand on the 



54 Saturday Mornings 

right to do this; then take the second 
plate for your mother to fill, and so on. 

^' It is a good plan to have one extra 
plate ready, and when yon take the first 
plate lay this down before yonr mother, 
and when you come back with the second 
one this will be filled waiting, and you 
can exchange the two, and so save time. 
There will be one over at the end, of 
course, and this you can lay on the side- 
board. 

' ' When you have company, the coffee is 
served in the drawing-room, and you must 
bring it in on a tray. But when you are 
alone, and wish to have it on the table, 
take off the pudding-dish, when all have 
finished, and then all the plates, and bring 
in the coffee-cups filled on the tray, and 
set one down before each, from his right. 
If you use finger-bowls after dinner, lay 
these down, too, a little above each place. 

'^ This is a long lesson, and a difficult 
one for a little girl, and you must not 
be discouraged if it takes you quite a while 
to learn it well. Keep on trying, and soon 



1 



The Dining-room Table 55 

you will be a perfect waitress. Just re- 
member these things, anyway, and every- 
body will forgive you if you forget some 
others : 

" Be sure your hands are clean, your 
hair very tidy, and your apron white and 
starched. Wear silent shoes, and do not 
clatter the dishes; do not speak to any 
one, unless you do not understand what to 
do next, then quietly whisper to your 
mother. Do not offer anybody a cup of 
tea or coffee, or a plate of soup, or even a 
plate with food on it; set these all down 
at the right. Offer platters, vegetable 
dishes, bread, and such things always at 
the left. Change all plates at the right. 
While a course is being eaten, softly 
carry out any soiled dishes from the 
sideboard and fill the glasses. Watch 
to see what is needed, and offer it. Do 
not offer any one what is already on 
his plate ; that is, if you are passing a dish 
all around and see that he has some of it 
left, skip him and go on to the next. Now 



56 Saturday Mornings 

I hear Bridget coming in with the sonp- 
tureen; run and put on your very best 
apron and announce dinner as though you 
were the finest waitress in the land ! ' ' 



CHAPTER IV 

WASHING DISHES 

It was Margaret's grandmother who 
gave her the lesson on dish-washing. She 
said it was the part of housekeeping she 
really liked the best of all and did most 
easily, so everybody said, ' ' Oh, well, if you 
really like it, perhaps you had better be the 
one to show Margaret how to do it prop- 
erly ! ' ' and then they all laughed. 

The gingham apron with sleeves was the 
one Margaret put on after breakfast. It 
buttoned around her wrists snugly, but on 
unfastening the buttons the sleeves could 
be rolled up and pinned out of the way, so 
they would keep clean. After she was 
ready the grandmother showed her how to 
stand all the dining-room chairs back 
against the wall and take up the crmnbs 

67 



58 Saturday Mornings 

under the table, pushing this to one side 
and then the other, so that the rug would 
really be clean when they were done. 

' ' Now, ' ' she said, ^ ' run into the kitchen 
and see that the table there is quite empty, 
so there will be plenty of room for the 
dishes we are going to bring out; bring 
back with you the large tray, and get out 
the &craping-knif e. " 

Margaret found that Bridget had left 
some pans and dishes on the table after 
she had cooked the breakfast, and these 
she piled neatly at one end, out of the way. 
The scraping-knife was a long one with a 
thin blade which bent easily; a palette 
knife, such as artists use in cleaning their 
paints up, her grandmother explained. 

^^ It seems funny to use an artist's knife 
to scrape dishes *with," said Margaret, 
when she came back. ^^ I should think we 
would just scrape the plates with the silver 
knives on them. That's the way Bridget 
does." 

'' But it is bad for the knives,'' her 
grandmother said. ^ ^ Besides, a stiff knife 



Washing Dishes 59 

cannot get the grease off, and this thin one 
can. You will see presently how beauti- 
fully it works. Now we must carry out the 
food." 

The dishes of meat, potatoes, bread, and 
other things were taken to the kitchen table 
and emptied ; the bread was put back into 
its box; the bits of meat and vegetable 
were put on small dishes and put in the 
refrigerator ; the butter on the small plates 
was scraped together into a little bowl and 
set aside to cook with. Then they were 
ready to get the dishes together on the 
dining-room table. They carefully emptied 
the tumblers and coffee-cups into the tray- 
bowl, so they would not be spilled in carry- 
ing them out. They piled the silver care- 
fully on a dish, and carried out the plates 
and other things on the table. Wlien it 
was quite cleared, Margaret took up the 
crumbs and laid the cloth and pad in the 
sideboard drawer. A centrepiece was put 
on the bare table with the fern-dish on it, 
and the two armchairs were puslied back 
in their places, one at each end. '' There/' 



60 Saturday Mornings 

said the grandmother, " when you have 
dusted the room will be right to leave until 
luncheon. Once or twice a week, of course, 
it has to be thoroughly swept and put to 
rights, but this is the way we do every 
day.'' 

In the kitchen they scraped the plates 
very carefully, putting all the scraps into a 
bowl to empty into the garbage pail. 
They piled them nicely, putting all the 
same kind of plates into one pile, not mix- 
ing two sizes or sorts. The cups were put 
together, and the saucers piled also. The 
tray was set ready on one end of the table, 
and Margaret got out her new, clean dish- 
towels, soft ones for glass and silver, and 
firmer ones for the rest of the things. 
Then she put out the two dish-pans, and 
turned on the water. It ran very hot from 
the first, so it was all right, but Margaret 
was told she must always try it before she 
sat down to a meal, and if it was only 
warm she must put on a kettleful to heat, 
so it would be ready when needed, because 



1 



Washing Dishes 61 

it was impossible to wash dishes well in 
any sort of water but the very hottest. 

They only filled one dish-pan to begin 
with, and after it was half-full Margaret 
put in the soap-shaker and stirred it around 
till the water was foamy. She hung it up 
again, and began to put in the tumblers. 

'' You must be careful that those are 
not icy," her grandmother cautioned. 
' ' Even after they have been emptied they 
must stand till they are fairly warm, or 
they will crack as soon as they touch the 
hot water. But you must be most care- 
ful of all about cut glass ; that really needs 
a special lesson. If you have a piece there, 
set it to one side, and when the rest of the 
glass is done and the silver, we will take 
that.'' There was a fruit-dish which had 
been used for breakfast, so it was put on a 
corner of the table where it could not be 
knocked off, to wait its turn. 

The tumblers and finger-bowls were put 
into the hot soapy water at once and 
turned about in it till they were clean. 
Then they were wiped while they were still 



62 Saturday Mornings 

a little soapy, without rinsing them, be- 
cause in that way they were polished like 
diamonds. After they were lifted out and 
put on the tray the silver went into the 
pan and was well scrubbed with the mop, 
and then rinsed with very hot water, which 
proved to be too much for Margaret's 
hands; when she tried to lift out the 
forks and spoons she could hardly touch 
them. 

" Ouch! " she exclaimed. '^ It burns 
me. I must put in some cold water." 

^ ' No, indeed ! ' ' said her grandmother, 
'' that would spoil everything. Just slip 
a large spoon under all the silver, and lift 
it out at once. There is a saying that no 
water is hot enough to wash silver in un- 
less it is too hot to put your hands in. Just 
see how fast the heat in it dries it as it lies 
on the tray ! And see how it polishes, too, 
as I wipe it ! If it were cold it might be 
greasy, and certainly it would not look 
half as well when it was done. Now be- 
fore we take the china I will tell you about 
washing cut glass. You can put some fresh 



Washing Dishes 63 

water in the dish-pan, but make it only 
as warm as your hand." 

While she was getting it ready the grand- 
mother got a soft brush and a cake of nice 
white soap, and, after trying the water to 
see that it was not too warm or too cold, 
she mixed the soap in thoroughly. The 
beautiful glass bowl was lifted carefully 
into the pan and scrubbed with the little 
brush till every crack was cleaned and it 
was brilliant with the suds. Margaret was 
not allowed to lift it out on the tray for 
fear she should let it slip, but she watched 
how her grandmother handled it. 

^^ If I had done as some careless maids 
do, ' ' her grandmother began, as she wiped, 
' ' I might have put this bowl right into the 
very hot water the tumblers can bear, and 
cracked it at once. Cut glass cannot bear 
either hot or cold water. I once had a 
beautiful bowl broken in two because it was 
held directly under the faucet in the sink 
while the hot water ran into it, and another 
dish was broken by having a piece of ice 
put in it on the table. Iced lemonade often 



64 Saturday Mornings 

breaks lovely and costly pitchers. You 
must always wash each piece by itself in 
lukewarm water, and never put it in the 
pan with other things. Make a suds with 
good white soap, scrub the cracks well 
with a soft brush which will not scratch, 
and wipe dry without rinsing, and you 
will have beautiful, brilliant glass, and 
your care will make it last a lifetime. I 
will set this away in the dining-room while 
you draw some hotter water with soap 
in it for the china. Put in the cleanest 
things first, and only a few at a time, so 
they will not be chipped. ' ' 

" Why do I take the cleanest china 
first? " Margaret inquired, as she put in 
the fruit-plates. '^ Why don't I take 
them as they happen to come on the 
table? '' ^ 

'' Some plates are greasy and some are 
not, and the greasy ones would spoil your 
dish-water," her grandmother explained. 
' ' Now rinse those, and while I wipe them, 
wash the rest and then change your 
water. ' ' 



Washing Dishes 65 

When Margaret lifted out the plates, 
she turned them up edgewise and let the 
water run back into the rinsing-pan, so 
that they were already half-dry when she 
laid them on the tray. But her grand- 
mother got a fresh towel for them, because 
the first one had become damp, and the 
dishes would not dry easily with it. 

Margaret decided that the easiest way to 
empty the dish-pan before putting in more 
hot water would be to tip it up, so she took 
it by the handles and turned the water 
directly into the sink. Her grandmother 
stopped her. 

'' Use the sink-basket," she said. " See, 
the wire one in the corner. Pour the water 
through that, and then if any bits of food 
are in it they will stop there and not get 
into the drain; it's a great convenience, 
and one we never had when I was a little 
girl. So with the dish-mop ; that goes into 
hot water where the hands do not like to 
go, and into cups and dishes where it 
would be much more trouble to take a cloth, 
as we used to do. Nowadays we do not use 



66 Saturday Mornings 

dish-cloths very often, because doctors tell 
us that they are not as cleanly as they 
might be, and may bring us typhoid fever 
and other things. A mop can be scalded in 
very hot water after it has been well 
washed in soap suds, and then shaken out 
perfectly clean to dry quickly, so that it 
is better to use. On the iron and tin things 
we use a wire dish-washer, which is also 
very clean, indeed, and these make us feel 
safe. ' ' 

When the glass, silver, and china was 
done, Margaret took them on her tray and 
carried them into the dining-room and put 
them all away. When she came back, she 
looked at the pile of pots and pans on the 
table, and groaned. '' Now," she said, 
^ ^ comes the worst of all ! ' ' 

'' These are n© trouble," laughed her 
grandmother, '' though there are a great 
many more of them than there ought to 
be. If Bridget only washed, wiped, and 
put away every dish as soon as she had 
finished using it, there might not be one 
to wash now. As it is, scald out the dish- 



Washing Dishes 67 

mop, and put it away, and get the wire 
dish-washer, and a little household am- 
monia and sapolio, and some more very 
hot water in the dish-pan, and we will do 
these in a minute." 

Then she showed Margaret how to wash 
out her rinsing-pan well, and wipe it dry 
before hanging it on its nail. The other 
pan was half-filled with very hot water, and 
a teaspoonful of ammonia put in. " The 
cleanest dishes first," Margaret was told, 
so in went the baking-tins, after they were 
well scraped, and the wire-washer soon 
scrubbed them clean, and grandmother 
dried them with a strong towel, and put 
them on a corner of the stove for a moment 
to get rid of any dampness before they 
were put away. The scorched marks on the 
white enamelled saucepans had to be 
rubbed well with sapolio, and a nice dish- 
cloth was found hanging up over the sink 
for the purpose. The coffee-pot had a 
special bath all alone, and was scrubbed 
out carefully inside as well as out, and 
every single ground was picked out of the 



68 



Saturday Mornings 



spout and corners, and it was wiped and 
dried very carefully, because otherwise it 
would never make good coffee. 

The frying-pan had to have a little am- 
monia to cut the grease, and as the outside 
seemed to be rough, as though it needed 
attention, too, this was well scrubbed with 
the wire washer till it was just as nice as 
the inside. After it was wiped, it, too, was 
dried off on the stove, lest any dampness 
might rust it. 

This finished the dishes, and Margaret 
washed out the dish-pan and scalded it, 
and then wiped and hung it up, as she had 
the rinsing-pan. The sink was swept up 
with a little wire broom, and the bits gath- 
ered on a small iron shovel. These they 
put first into the wire sink-basket, and 
then turned out \nto the bowl of garbage ; 
they scalded the shovel and broom, and 
the basket — turned upside down in the 
sink — till they were all clean. A bit of 
washing-soda was laid over the drain-pipe, 
and a quantity of very hot water was 
poured into the sink to flush it. The soda 



Washing Dishes 69 

melted away, and as it went down the 
pipe it took all the grease with it which 
the water had left on the sides and in the 
corners of the pipe. 

A special cloth was always kept hanging 
up over the sink for the tables. This Mar- 
garet wrung out, and used in wiping off 
all the dish-water which lay there; she 
also wiped up the wood of the sink. Then 
the kitchen broom was brought out and 
the floor nicely swept, especially under 
the tables and in the corners. The damp 
dish-towels were scalded and hung out in 
the sunshine ; the chairs were set straight, 
the window-sills wiped off and some flat- 
irons put away which had been left on the 
stove. 

' ' There, ' ' said the grandmother, as they 
stood looking at the tidy kitchen, '^ that's 
all there is to do, and I call it pleasant 
work. I like to make things clean and 
sweet, and I never could see why so many 
women hate to wash dishes." 

'' Why, grandmother," said Margaret, 
" I think it's just fun! " 



CHAPTER V 

THE CARE OF THE BEDROOMS 

When it was the turn of the Pretty Aunt 
to give her lesson in housekeeping, she 
said she should begin at daybreak, so Mar- 
garet was not surprised to hear her knock 
at the door early in the morning, almost 
before she was dressed. 

She helped the little girl take the clothes 
off the bed, one at a time, and put them on 
two chairs near the windows, being careful 
not to let the blankets get on the floor. 
She beat the pillows well, and turned the 
mattress up over the foot of the bed so the 
air could get underneath it. The white 
spread she kept by itself, and had Margaret 
help fold it up in its creases. '^ Nothing 
wrinkles more easily," she told Margaret, 
' ' and a wrinkled spread spoils the look of 

70 



The Care of the Bedrooms 71 

neatness a bed ought to have when it is 
made. If you have a heavy Marseilles 
spread, do not sleep under it; fold it at 
night and put it away, and use only the 
blankets, because it is not good for any 
one to sleep under such a weight. Now 
hang up your night-dress, and put away 
your slippers and bath-wrapper. I am 
delighted to see that you have no dress 
or petticoats lying around this morning 
from last night. Too many girls do not 
hang them up at once when they take them 
off, but leave them over a chair, and put 
them away in the morning, perhaps 
creased with lying. It is much better to 
put them away as you take them off. 
Open your windows, next, top and bottom, 
and set the closet door open, too, and then 
we will go to breakfast. ' ' 

" Why do I open the closet door? " 
asked Margaret, laughing at the idea. 

'' Because your closet needs airing just 
as much as your room does ; more, indeed, 
because its door has been shut all night, 
while the fresh air has been blowing into 



72 Saturday Mornings 

the room through the open windows. If 
you did not air it every day, it would soon 
have a close, shut-up odor, and perhaps 
your dresses would have it, too, which 
would certainly not be nice at all. It has 
to have fresh air to keep it sweet. Now 
we will shut the door of your room as we 
go, for the cold wind would chill the halls, 
and besides, the sight of a disordered bed- 
room is not attractive." 

After breakfast Margaret went up-stairs 
and shut the windows of her room, and a 
little later, when it was wa^rm, she and her 
aunt put on fresh white aprons and went in 
and began to put it to rights. 

One stood on each side of the bed and 
turned the mattress from head to foot ; the 
next day, Margaret was told, it must be 
turned from side^to side as well as over, 
to keep it always in good shape. If this 
was not done constantly there would soon 
be a hollow place in the middle, which 
would never come out, and the mattress 
would be spoiled. They laid over it the 
nice white pad which kept it looking 



The Care of the Bedrooms 73 

always new and clean, and then the lower 
sheet, the wide hem at the top and the nar- 
row one at the bottom, the seams toward 
the mattress, and tucked it smoothly in 
at the sides. 

'' Some people are careless about these 
little things," said the aunt as they worked. 
^' They think it does not matter if there 
is a hollow in the mattress, or whether they 
have a cover for it or not. They mix the 
top and bottom sheets, and never know 
which is which; but you are going to do 
things the right way, which is always the 
easiest in the end." 

They laid the upper sheet on with the 
wide hem at the top, as before, but with 
the seam up instead of down. Margaret 
wondered at this, but was told that this 
way made the two smooth sides of the 
sheets come next to the one who slept be- 
tween them, and at the same time made the 
upper sheet turn over at the top with the 
seam underneath. 

When the blankets went on, the Pretty 
Aunt said she was thankful to notice that 



74 Saturday Mornings 

Margaret's mother always cut hers in 
two. 

'' What for? " asked the little girl. 

^^ Well," was the reply, " double blank- 
ets are difficult to handle. They are really 
one long blanket folded together, and one- 
half sometimes slips and gets wrinkled, and 
is hard to get into place. Then, half- 
blankets are more easily aired than whole 
ones, and more easily washed, also. And 
if one is too warm in the night, and wishes 
to throw off half of the clothes, it can be 
done without pulling the bed to pieces. 
It is simple enough to cut a pair in two 
and bind the edges with ribbon so the colors 
will match, and it well pays for the small 
trouble. ' ' 

'' I sometimes wish I had a nice, fat 
comfortable instead of two blankets, '* 
said Margaret. '' I know a girl who has 
such a hot one, all made of cotton and 
cheesecloth. ' ' 

^^ They are not nearly as healthful as 
blankets, my dear, nor so easily kept clean. 
People who own them would hate to have 



The Care of the Bedrooms 75 

to tell how seldom they are washed, be- 
cause they are so heavy to handle that it 
is put off month after month, and season 
after season. A pretty little silkolene 
coverlet to lay on the foot of the bed, such 
as you have, or a small eiderdown puff, is 
very nice, but blankets are the things to 
sleep under. Now let us put the white 
spread on." 

'' But, auntie," objected Margaret, 
^^ you haven't tucked anything in! Just 
see, not the sides nor the bottom! I don't 
like to have my feet out all night ; I like to 
be tucked in all nice and warm. Shan't 
we tuck in everything as we go along? 
That's the way Bridget does when she 
makes my bed." 

Her aunt laughed. '' Just wait! " she 
said. Then she put on the white spread, 
and smoothed it nicely all over, and told 
Margaret to stand opposite to her at the 
side of the bed near the foot, and do as 
she did. 

First she turned the spread back, just 
as though it was at the top instead of 



76 Saturday Mornings 

the bottom; then she turned back one 
blanket; then the other; then the upper 
sheet, and next the lower one, leaving the 
mattress and pad showing. They raised 
the mattress, and putting their hands 
under all the folded back clothes at once, 
they put them under the end of it smoothly, 
pushing them well back ; then they tucked 
in the sides. '' There," said the aunt, 
nodding her pretty head at her little niece, 
*^ I'd like to see you pull those clothes out 
at night, as you do when Bridget makes 
your bed! If you tuck things in one by 
one sometimes they will come out, but if 
you tuck them in as we have done they 
are sure to stay. Now for the top." 

She turned over the spread, blankets, 
and sheet, and laid them fiat on the spread, 
and then turned^ them under themselves, 
making a smooth, rather narrow fold, close 
up to the place the pillows were going to 
stand. 

'^ If the sheet was mussed I would not do 
this," she explained. '' Then I would just 
lay all the clothes back under the pil- 



The Care of the Bedrooms 77 

lows ; but when the sheet is fresh it looks 
nice this way. Beat up the pillows, smooth 
them out, and stand them up evenly. Re- 
member, if you have a white spread with 
a fringe on it and a muslin valance around 
the bed, the spread is not tucked in at all, 
but after the bed is finished and tucked in 
all around, it is laid on and left hanging 
over sides and foot. 

" If, instead of a spread, you have a 
figured cover, or one made of lace or mus- 
lin, you do not use any spread, but put that 
on over the blankets during the day and 
take it off at night. A roll covered with 
the same stuff is used with such a bed 
cover, and at night this, too, is put away 
and the pillows brought out from the cup- 
board and put on when the bed is opened. 
The bed in the guest-room is like that ; you 
know it has a pretty cover and a roll. But 
whatever you have, it is always nice to have 
the bed opened for one at night, the clothes 
folded smoothly back, the spread laid 
away and the pillows put down flat, so all 
one has to do is to slip in. ' ' 



78 Saturday Mornings 

'' I know," Margaret replied. " It 
makes you feel sleepy to see a bed like 
that." 

'^ Now let us take the wash-stand," her 
aunt went on, after she had passed her 
hands all over the bed as though she were 
ironing it, leaving it as smooth as a nice 
white table. '^ Get the cloths from the 
bathroom, a clean white one, you know, and 
a clean colored one; and the soap." 

She showed Margaret how to wash 
everything out neatly, beginning with 
the tooth-brush mug and soap-dish, and 
she was told to look carefully and 
see if they were both clean in the bot- 
tom, '' because probably they are not," 
she said. The wash-bowl was washed 
with soap, especially where there was a 
greasy streak ai^ound it, and the pitcher 
was filled, and wiped where the water 
dripped down the front. The dark cloth 
was used on the rest of the china ; it was 
better to have two cloths of different 
colors, her aunt explained, to avoid mixing 
them. 



The Care of the Bedrooms 79 

After the stand was finished, and the 
top wiped off with the white cloth, the 
cloths were both washed out in the bath- 
room and put away, with the soap. The 
towels were folded in the creases they had 
been ironed in, and pulled into shape and 
rehung; the wash-cloth was wrung dry 
and shaken out before it was hung up on 
the rack. The cake of soap had been 
washed off in the bowl when that was 
washed, and it was now put back in the 
clean dish. '^ Whatever you forget, Mar- 
garet, never forget to wash off the soap ! ' ' 
her aunt warned her. 

There seemed a good deal to do to make 
the room nice even after the bed and wash- 
stand were done, for the closet was opened 
and everything taken out and put on chairs 
around the room, and then put back. The 
dresses had to be hung up by the loops on 
the skirt, and the waists which matched 
hung each on the same hook with its own 
skirt by the loops at the sleeves. The 
petticoats had to go by themselves in a 
separate part of the closet, and the shoes 



80 Saturday Mornings 

were all put in pairs in the bag on the door, 
instead of being left on the floor in piles. 
Margaret did not like to do these things, 
but she had to admit that she could dress 
faster in the morning when she knew just 
where everything was, and when she could 
find mates to her shoes in just half a 
second, instead of having to take a minute 
or more to hunt them in the corners of the 
closet on the floor. 

Arranging the bureau was still worse 
than making the closet tidy. All the 
drawers were emptied out, and everything 
sorted in heaps and put away. Some 
pretty boxes without covers were brought 
from her aunt's bureau and put in Mar- 
garet's upper drawer, one for gloves, one 
for handkerchiefs, one for ribbons, so that 
everything should be where it belonged, 
yet as soon as the drawer was opened one 
could see where everything was. Under- 
clothes were made into neat piles, and ar- 
ranged in the drawers below, one sort of 
thing in one pile and another in another, 
and the stockings laid in a nice row, mates 



The Care of the Bedrooms 81 

together, folded and tucked in, ready to 
go on. 

The top of the bureau had many pretty 
silver ornaments, but they were dull and 
shabby, and Margaret had to get the silver 
polish and a bit of chamois and make them 
shine before they could go on the fresh 
bureau-cover the aunt put on, and she was 
given a bit of velvety stuff to tuck in a 
corner of a drawer, ready to use every day 
or two, so they would not grow dull again. 

When all else was done they brushed 
up the floor, dusted everything thoroughly, 
straightened the pictures on the wall and 
the window-shades, and set the chairs 
where they would look best. Then Mar- 
garet sat down to rest, and her aunt 
finished the lesson in this way : 

" A lady," she began, '' no matter 
whether she is grown up or not, always 
keeps her bedroom in beautiful order, 
fresh and dainty, especially the places 
which do not show, like bureau drawers! 
Her closet has plenty of hooks, and her 
gowns are kept together, each on one. 



82 Saturday Mornings 

Her hats are in their boxes on the shelves, 
her shoes in their bag. Her bureau is 
orderly, the silver clean and shining. 
Her hair-brush is washed at least once a 
week, to keep it white and fresh, and the 
comb is never allowed to have bits of 
hair in it, but is as clean as the brush. Her 
wash-stand is always perfectly clean and 
tidy, and nothing is ever left about in the 
room. Most important of all, the air of her 
room is always fresh and sweety because 
the window is left open at night and often 
opened during the day for a time. Now 
this has been a good long lesson to-day — 
it's almost noon; but if you have learned 
it, you have not wasted a minute of even 
this nice bright Saturday. There's a 
prize offered by this teacher for perfect 
lessons. Keep your room in order for a 
month, and see what you'll find on your 
bureau then! " 

'' Oh, what? " cried Margaret, running 
after her Pretty Aunt as she went out into 
the hall. 



The Care of the Bedrooms 83 

^ ^ Wait and see ! ' ' was all she would say, 
but Margaret decided to keep the room 
beautifully tidy for the prize, just the 
same. 



CHAPTER VI 

SWEEPING AND DUSTING 

Maegaret could hardly wait for the time 
for her sweeping lesson, because she 
wanted so much to wear her sweeping-cap. 
When she heard her mother say one Satur- 
day morning that the lesson that day would 
be on the care of the parlors and hall, she 
asked to be excused from the breakfast- 
table, and ran up and put on her long- 
sleeved apron and the pretty little cap with 
the red bow in front, and came down proud 
and smiling. 

The halls and stairs were of hardwood, 
so Margaret selected from the broom-closet 
the long-handled floor-brush, the large 
dust-pan and the small one, a flat wicker 
beater for the rugs, the bottle of floor oil, 
and the flannel cloth which was with it, 

84 



Sweeping and Dusting 85 

a certain small dish kept especially for the 
oil, and some of her new dnst-cloths. She 
tried to remember all the things her mother 
had told her to get, but, after all, she forgot 
the broom, and had to go back twice for 
it, the second time because she brought the 
wrong one. The very best broom, used only 
on the freshest carpets, had a red tape tied 
around the handle, so it would not get 
mixed with the one used in the dining-room, 
or the rest of the house. 

Bridget helped carry out the rugs and 
put them over the clothes-line, and Mar- 
garet gently struck them with the wicker 
beater till all the dust was out. She knew 
she would injure them if she pounded as 
hard as she wanted to, so she was very 
careful to hit them softly, but to do it so 
often that they were clean when she was 
done. She laid them on the back porch, 
and brushed them with the whisk-broom 
afterward until they were like new; then 
they were folded and left in a corner of the 
dining-room, ready to go down when the 
halls were done. 



86 Saturday Mornings 

Her mother told her to go to the very top 
of the house and shut the doors of the 
rooms all the way down that no dust could 
get in. Then they moved the table and 
chair and umbrella jar out of the hall, 
and carried the coats and hats to the closet, 
and shut them up. The upper hall was very 
dark with all the doors closed which 
usually lighted it, so the gas was lit, that 
the corners might be easily seen. Begin- 
ning at the top of the house Margaret 
swept down the halls and stairs all the 
way, using her long-handled brush and 
taking a little whisk-broom, which was 
also soft for the corners and the stairs, 
putting the dust into the pan as she 
went along, especially on the stairs. 

Her mother wanted her to let Bridget 
wipe off the wood with oil, but Margaret 
begged to be allowed to do at least one 
floor and the lower stairs, so she would 
know just how to do it in her very own 
house, when she had one! She put on a 
large, strong pair of gloves, put a little 
oil in the dish from the bottle, dipped in 



Sweeping and Dusting 87 

her flannel cloth, and was going to begin 
when her mother stopped her. " Wring 
out the cloth," she said; " yon are not 
going to wash the floor, only to wipe it." 
Then she went away until this part of the 
work was done, so she might not step on 
the wood while it was wet, and perhaps 
spoil the whole floor. 

The work was not very pleasant, per- 
haps, and the oil did not smell very nice, 
but it was interesting to do something 
new, and Margaret did not mind it at 
all. She wiped up one floor and one 
flight of stairs, and then wiped also the 
baseboard around the floor and the balus- 
trades of the stairs, and when she was done 
it all looked so fresh and nice she wished 
she had done all the halls. However, she 
put away the oil and cloth and floor-brush, 
and, setting the front door open to let the 
air come in and dry the wood and carry 
away the odor of the oil, she dusted the rest 
of the halls with her ordinary dust-cloth, 
wiping the tops of the pictures well, and 
the hall table and chair, which Bridget 



88 



Saturday Mornings 



helped her put back. They brought in the 
step-ladder, too, so that Margaret could get 
to the chandelier and the top of the doors, 
and wipe these off thoroughly. 

The vestibule had been swept and dusted 
early in the morning, and there was noth- 
ing to do outside, but the glass in the front 
door looked dingy, and Margaret wiped 
it off with a clean, damp cloth and polished 
it with the chamois duster and shook out 
the lace which hung over it, and dusted the 
edges of the glass and the wood of the door. 
Then she ran and got the rugs and spread 
them down, and called her mother to come 
and see how beautiful the halls looked. 

" Beautiful! I should think so, in- 
deed! " her mother exclaimed. " I could 
not have done the work better myself. 
AVhat made you think of the glass in the 
door ? I forgot to tell you about that. ' ' 

^' Oh," said Margaret, " I pretended I 
was a new maid, and that you were showing 
me all about the work, and first I said to 
myself, ' Next, Mary Jane, the front door,' 



Sweeping and Dusting 89 

and then I was Mary Jane, and did the 
front door, you see ! ' ' 

Her mother smiled. " Well, certainly, 
Mary Jane does her work thoroughly, ' ' she 
said. " I am sure I shall keep her. Now 
if you are not tired we will do the parlors." 

These two rooms took all the rest of the 
Saturday morning lesson. The window- 
curtains and portieres were pinned up and 
put into bags, long, loose ones, which kept 
them off the floor and out of the dust, but 
did not muss them. They dusted the piano 
and large sofa and covered them with 
strong sheets. They wiped off the book- 
shelves, and tucked newspapers in and out 
until all the books were entirely covered 
and protected. They brushed off the cush- 
ions of the chairs with a whisk-broom as 
they had the sofa, and wiped their wood- 
work, and then carried them into the din- 
ing-room; the sofa-pillows were shaken 
and beaten and put there also. All the 
ornaments on the tables and mantels, and 
the lamps, were wiped and put on the 
dining-room table. 



90 Saturday Mornings 

Wlien the rooms were as empty as possi- 
ble they shut the doors and sprinkled 
bran on the carpets just as though they 
were sewing garden seeds, which Margaret 
thought was great fun. 

" Some people use tea-leaves on their 
carpets," her mother explained, '' and as 
they are damp they do take up the dust 
nicely; but they will stain delicate colors 
so, I think it is safer to use bran, which 
also takes up dust but never hurts any 
carpet. Now I will show you how to 
sweep." 

Beginning at one side of the room near 
the wall, she made long, even strokes with 
the broom, not bearing on too hard, and 
sweeping toward the centre all the time. 
'' Don't give little jerky dabs at the car- 
pet, ' ' she cautioned, ' ' for that is bad for it, 
and don't sweep from one side to the other, 
but always toward the middle. But we 
forgot to open the window. ' ' 

Margaret pushed up the one nearest to 
her and instantly in rushed the wind, 
scattering bran and dust all over the floor. 



Sweeping and Dusting 91 

Her mother hurried to shut it. ^' You 
must find out from which way the wind 
comes before you open the window," she 
said. " That one did more harm than 
good. Try the other one." 

When this was open they could not feel 
any breeze at all, and it seemed as though 
it was not worth opening, but the mother 
said it was exactly right, for it made a 
draught, and carried all the dust gently 
outdoors. 

After a time Margaret took the broom 
and finished the floor, and when the dust 
lay in a little pile in the middle, her mother 
held the pan for her and she swept it all 
up, except a little which refused to come 
on; this they brushed up with the whisk- 
broom; they also brushed out all the cor- 
ners of the room with the whisk and pan, 
because the broom was so large that it 
would not go in easily, and a little bit of 
dust had been left in each one. The car- 
pets looked nice and fresh when they had 
finished. 

'' Once in awhile," the mother said, '' it 



92 



Saturday Mornings 



is a good plan to have Bridget wipe off the 
carpets quickly with warm water in which 
a little ammonia has been put. She 
squeezes out a cloth almost dry and works 
quickly, not to wet the carpet too much, 
and the ammonia brings out the colors and 
makes the whole look like new. Some 
housekeepers like to put a couple of table- 
spoonfuls of turpentine in the water in- 
stead of the ammonia, and this is just as 
good for the carpet, and if there is any 
fear of moths being in it, it is even better. 
Every two or three months a carpet ought 
to be wiped off in one way or the other to 
keep it nice. Now while we wait for the 
dust to settle we will make the marble 
mantel clean. You can get a basin of 
water, the sapolio, a flannel cloth, and a 
white cotton one." 

They wet the cake of soap a little and 
rubbed the flannel on it and scrubbed the 
mantel thoroughly, and then the hearth, 
rinsing them off and wiping them dry after- 
ward. They also wiped off the fireplace, 
using a dry cloth here, too, for fear of 



Sweeping and Dusting 93 

rust, and then took a damp one to wipe off 
the baseboard. If there had been a wood 
floor, that would have had to be treated 
just as the halls had been — brushed up 
with the soft brush, and wiped off with 
floor oil. And, her mother explained, if 
the halls had been carpeted Margaret 
would have had to sweep them with the 
broom and use the whisk in the corners and 
on all the stairs, one at a time, carefully. 

By this time there seemed to be no dust 
left in the air, so they wiped the pictures 
off with a clean duster, especially on the 
top where Bridget's duster sometimes 
failed to go. The sheets were taken off the 
sofa and piano next, and they were lightly 
dusted again, " just to make sure," Mar- 
garet said. 

The piano keys proved to be very sticky, 
and in some spots there were dark marks, 
as though a little girl had practised with 
unwashed fingers, — though, of course, 
no little girl would really do such a thing, 
the mother said. So Margaret got a little 
bottle of alcohol and a flannel cloth and 



94 Saturday Mornings 

sponged off each key. If she had used 
water on the ivory it would have made it 
yellow, but the alcohol did not injure it 
at all. 

The chairs were brought in after this, 
and the other things they had carried out, 
and all arranged again. Some of the 
bric-a-brac was not clean in spite of its 
dusting, and this had to be carefully 
washed in warm water and wiped dry 
before it was put in place. " Anything 
but soiled ornaments," her mother told 
the little girl. The curtains and por- 
tieres were taken out of their bags and 
smoothed, and the bags and sheets folded 
and put away till the next sweeping day. 
The parlors looked beautifully fresh 
and orderly, but something seemed miss- 
ing. " Why, the palm! " Margaret said 
at length. ' ' Bridget took it out this morn- 
ing for its bath and did not bring it back." 

They found there had been no time for 
the bath yet, so Margaret and her mother 
said they would attend to it. They wet the 
earth well, and while the water drained 




Sweeping and Dusting 95 

off into a large pan they washed the leaves, 
using a soft cloth dipped in a basin which 
held a cup of water and a cup of milk. 

' ' I did not know plants liked milk, ' ' said 
Margaret, as she helped sponge the large 
leaves all over, the back as well as the 
front sides. 

'' Palms love it," her mother replied, 
^' and it pays to use it on them, for it keeps 
them green and glossy; you will see how 
pretty this looks when we have finished it. ' ' 

Sure enough, when they were done the 
palm looked as though the leaves had just 
opened, and they agreed that it should 
have a drink of milk and water every week. 
Then they put it back in its pot in the win- 
dow of the parlor, and the room was all 
done. 

The last thing of all was the lesson the 
mother repeated for Margaret to remember 
for all kinds of sweeping and dusting. It 
was like this : 

^^ First get rid of all the ornaments and 
furniture in a room ; in a bedroom you can 
put the things from the bureau and mantel 



96 Saturday Mornings 

on the bed, provided you dust tliem all well 
first. The chairs can go into the hall, and 
over the bureau, table, sofa, and bed, you 
must put sheets and towels, or even news- 
papers; never sweep till everything is 
well covered, or you will have to do double 
work when you come to dust. Pin up the 
curtains, and put bran on the carpet, and 
get somebody to help you push the heavy 
furniture about so you can sweep under it ; 
there are some people who do not move 
these things for months, because it is too 
much trouble, but nice housekeepers al- 
ways move them every single time they 
sweep. Use the whisk-broom in all the 
corners; wipe off the baseboards; dust 
the pictures thoroughly, and shake out 
the curtains, and when the room is re- 
arranged, dust ^ all the little things and 
your rooms will always look as though 
they had been housecleaned. " 

'' My windows really and truly need 
washing," said Margaret. '' When I 
sweep my room next week I shall wash 
them all myself." 



Sweeping and Dusting 97 

' ' Then you had better learn how now, ' ' 
her mother said. " That will be a good 
ending for the lesson. To wash windows 
you need a basin of warm water, a little 
ammonia, and two clean cloths. Wring 
out your first cloth in the ammonia-water 
until it is nearly dry, and rub the glass over 
and over from one side to the other, and 
around and around. Wipe dry each pane 
as you finish it, so it will not be streaked, 
and when all are done, polish them off with 
a handful of tissue-paper or a chamois. 
When you wash plate glass, such as we 
have in the parlors, do not use ammonia, 
but instead put a few drops of blueing in 
the water, and when they are wiped dry 
go over the glass again with a cloth wrung 
out in alcohol. Do mirrors in this way if 
they are very dim; if they are new but 
dusty, do not use any water, only the alco- 
hol, and polish them with the chamois. 
Would you like to try one window or one 
mirror still, this morning? " 

Margaret said she thought she would 



98 



Saturday Mornings 



rather wait a week, and as it proved to be 
luncheon time she hurried to put all the 
things away which they had been using, 
and get herself ready. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE BATHROOM ; BRASSES, GRATES, OILCLOTHS, 
AND VESTIBULE 

When the Saturday morning came on 
which Margaret was to learn how to take 
care of the bathroom, and clean grates, and 
do other such things, she groaned out loud. 
So far her lessons had been delightful, but 
this one sounded as though it would be 
work instead of fun. However, she put on 
her long-sleeved apron and out of the 
little bathroom cupboard she took the flan- 
nel cloth, the cotton cloth, the sapolio, the 
metal polish, a queer little brush of twigs 
with a long handle and a bottle of disin- 
fectant, all of which stood ready there in a 
neat row. Then her Other Aunt came into 
the room, with a big apron on just like 
Margaret's, and began: 

99 



100 Saturday Mornings 

' ' The bathtub, luckily for us, ' ' she said, 
^^ is of white enamel, so it is easy to keep 
clean. But see, all around it there is a 
streak where the top of the water came 
after somebody's bath this morning. Now, 
of course, every single person who uses a 
bathtub ought to wipe it out afterward; 
but men don't take the trouble, and women 
sometimes forget ; little girls never do, of 
course ! So the tub has to be washed and 
wiped out every morning. ' ' 

" Every single morning? " Margaret 
asked, grumblingly. " It seems as if that 
would be too often; it must wear the nice 
enamel off to wash it so much." 

' ' Not at all, ' ' said her aunt ; ^ ' it is good 
for it ! Get the nice white cloth and a cake 
of soap, — not the sapolio, because that 
would scratch it, — and roll up your 
sleeves. Kneel \iown by the tub, put in 
the stopper, and draw a little warm water ; 
wring out your cloth in it, rub it well on 
the soap, and scrub off the greasy mark 
first, and afterward wash the tub all over ; 
rinse out your cloth, let out the water, and 



The Bathroom 101 

wash the tub again and wipe it dry. Some- 
times, perhaps twice a week, put a little 
ammonia in the first water so that the tub 
will have an extra cleaning. If ever you 
have a really dirty tub to scrub, take gaso- 
line on a flannel cloth and wash with that, 
and it will be like new ; but tubs which are 
washed out every day never need gaso- 
line. 

^^ If you have a tub lined with zinc re- 
member that needs even more care than a 
white one, if it is to be kept shining bright. 
You can scrub it out with gasoline if it 
seems greasy, then with vinegar, if it is 
dark, then with metal polish, and so on; 
zinc tubs are really difficult to care for. A 
better way is to paint it all over with two 
coats of white paint and when it is dry 
enamel it. It costs only a dollar to do it, 
and it does save so much work ; besides, a 
white tub always looks best of all. Now 
we will do the wash-stand. ' ' 

They took off the soap-dish and tooth- 
brush mug and bottles of tooth powder, be- 
cause, as the aunt explained, one must 



102 Saturday Mornings 

always wipe under things, not around 
them. The marble slab and bowl were 
scrubbed and dried, and the mugs and 
soap-dish washed, wiped, and replaced. 
After this they cleaned the closet by pull- 
ing the handle and letting the water run 
while they put in the long-handled brush 
of twigs and brushed out every inch of 
china, even down into the pipe as far as 
possible. Margaret was told that when 
she used ammonia in the tub she must put 
some in the closet, too, and once or twice 
a week a little disinfectant must be poured 
down to keep the pipe perfectly clean. 
The woodwork was wiped off with a cloth 
kept for that purpose, and then they 
turned to the polishing of the faucets and 
pipes. 

This was hard, but as Margaret and her 
aunt both worked it made it easier. They 
put some polishing paste on a flannel and 
rubbed and rubbed till they could see the 
metal shining through the paste; then 
they wiped it off with a dry cloth. " If 
this was all rubbed a little every single 



The Bathroom 103 

day,'' said the aunt, '' it would never be 
such hard work. I should say that this 
nickel had been just a little bit neglected 
lately, but see how bright we have made 
it ! Now for the oilcloth on the floor. ' ' 

They set the hamper and a chair out 
into the hall, and Margaret went to the 
kitchen for a basin of milk with a little 
warm water in it. Out of the cupboard she 
brought the Japanese seat she had learned 
she must always use when she got down 
on the floor, partly to save her dress, and 
partly because there was a painful disease 
called sometimes " housemaid's knee," 
which one could get by kneeling and work- 
ing on a hard floor with nothing underneath 
one. When she was all ready her aunt 
wrung out the cloth for her in the milk, and 
told her to begin at one edge and work 
straight across the floor, wiping every part 
well, but especially under the tub and 
wash-stand, because those were likely to 
need it most. '' The milk will freshen the 
oilcloth and make it shine," she said. 
^' Always try and have some when you 



104 



Saturday Mornings 



wipe up an oilcloth, for water alone is not 
good for it." 

When the floor was dry they set in the 
hamper again, folded the towels neatly, 
and hung them straight on the rack, and 
dusted around the window and the wood 
around the sides of the room. " We are 
done here," the aunt said, as they put 
away all the things they had been using, 
'' but the lesson isn't over yet, for while 
we are in the scrubbing business you may 
as well learn how to take care of steps and 
vestibule. You may get the old broom 
from the kitchen Bridget keeps for this, 
and ask her to bring a pail of water ; you 
will need the scrubbing-brush, too, and the 
sapolio, and two cloths; the Japanese 
seat, some more metal polish, a flannel, 
and a duster. ' ' 

Margaret got them all, and brought them 
out to the vestibule. The door-mat was 
taken up, shaken well, and hung over the 
balustrade outside, and, after sweeping 
out the vestibule, Margaret knelt on the 
seat and scrubbed the marble floor, espe- 



The Bathroom 105 

cially in the corners, and then wiped them 
dry. The steps had already been swept 
once that morning, so all they needed was 
a good bath. A little water at a time was 
poured over them and swept off with the 
broom, and while they dried in the sun- 
shine, she rubbed the door handles and 
bell with polish, and gave them a beauti- 
ful finish with chamois leather. The wood- 
work of the doors was pretty dusty, and 
before it could be made to look just right 
it had to be rubbed off with a damp duster 
and a little stick used in the cracks of the 
wood. When the rug was laid down once 
more Margaret and her Other Aunt stood 
and admired their work. 

'' A good housekeeper always has nice, 
clean steps and a well-cared-for vestibule," 
said the aunt. '' They are like a sign- 
board on the front of a house, telling the 
sort of people who live inside. That 
thought ought to make you keep your vesti- 
bule in nice order. ' ' 

'' Yes, indeed," said Margaret. ^^ I'd 
be ashamed to have a sign-board in front 



106 Saturday Mornings 

of my steps, saying, ' An untidy girl lives 
here ! ' Now what do we do ? " 

** Well, let ns see if we can find any 
brass to polish. There are the andirons 
in the hall, for instance, and the shovel and 
tongs." So ont came the metal polish 
once more, and, after putting down a news- 
paper, they rubbed them all well. They 
found out, however, that some of the brass 
about the house had an enamel finish over 
it to keep out the air, and all this needed 
was wiping off with a cloth instead of rub- 
bing, which was a great saving of time; 
though this brass was not quite as nice 
looking as that which they rubbed till it 
shone like a mirror, in the old-fashioned 
way. It happened that the chandelier in 
the hall was covered with the enamel, and 
here her aunt told Margaret she did not 
dislike it, because it would have been 
nearly impossible to rub a chandelier clear 
up to the ceiling every week. They 
brought out the step-ladder and wiped it 
off with a dry duster, however, and then 
they washed the globes nicely in warm 



The Bathroom 107 

water, and dried them. Globes often got 
very dusty, the aunt said, and nobody re- 
membered to wash them off instead of 
merely dusting them once in awhile, and 
then the family thought the gas must be 
very poor because the light was dim. 

'' Now, auntie, what next? " Margaret 
asked, when this work was done. 

'' The sitting-room fireplace," her aunt 
replied. ^^ It is full of wood ashes." 

Margaret went once more to the broom 
closet and got a shovel, a dust-pan, a whisk- 
broom, a damp cloth, and a newspaper. 

There were andirons in the fireplace 
and the ashes lay all over and around 
them, so her aunt first helped her lift these 
heavy things out on the newspaper at one 
side. Then she told her to sweep most of 
the ashes into a small pile right in the 
centre of the hearth, at the back. 

'' But, auntie, they won't burn any 
more; why don't I take them right out? " 
asked Margaret. 

^ ' Because they make the fire burn better 
and last longer. You can take up part of 



108 



Saturday Mornings 



them and put them in the scuttle, but leave 
some, and especially all the bits of charred 
wood; it would be wasteful to take those 
away. ' ' 

Margaret carefully swept up the greater 
part of the ashes, working from the edges 
of the hearth toward the middle, and put 
them into the scuttle. Once she spilled a 
shovelful, but as a newspaper was spread 
on the carpet it did not matter. Her aunt 
told her to be sure and always have plenty 
of papers ready to use in housework, be- 
cause in the end they saved so much work. 
" Suppose you had to sweep up those 
ashes," she said, '' and clean the carpet, 
too, would not that be a bother? Now 
if the hearth is clean, wipe it with the damp 
cloth, and dust off the andirons well. If 
there had been a grate here you would 
have had to polish it with the blacking 
from the kitchen stove. AVhen you have 
finished you can get more paper and kin- 
dling and lay a fire." 

They put crumpled paper between the 
andirons, covering all the ashes which lay 



The Bathroom 109 

there so they did not show. On this they 
laid kindling, crossed, and then some pieces 
of wood. When they gathered up the news- 
paper there was nothing to brush from 
the carpet, and everything was neat. 

" There,'' said her aunt, '' that's all 
for to-day. Run and wash your face and 
hands, — they need it ! " 



CHAPTER Vm 

HOUSECLEANING ; CELLAR AND ATTIC 

Margaret's Saturday morning lessons 
were interrupted at this point by the spring 
housecleaning. Everybody was so busy 
taking up and putting down carpets, hang- 
ing curtains and pictures over, putting 
away winter clothes and getting out 
summer ones, that the lessons seemed for- 
gotten. The grandmother, however, re- 
membered, and one day she took the little 
girl around the house while the cleaning 
was going on, showing her how the work 
was done. They found the guest-room had 
been finished, so they sat down there and 
talked. 

*^ Housecleaning is very different now- 
adays from what it used to be, ' ' she began. 
'^ We used to take up all the carpets at 

110 



Housecleaning ; Cellar and Attic 111 

once, and keep everything upset for a 
week or two, and then get all to rights. 
Now we take a room at a time, and so do 
the whole house gradually and comfortably. 
Perhaps the work is divided, and part done 
in the spring and part in the fall, to make it 
still easier. Then we do not take up every 
carpet every year, as we did. This guest- 
room carpet, for one, does not need beat- 
ing and cleaning and putting down again, 
because the room is not used all the time, 
and once or twice a year it has a scrubbing 
with warm water or turpentine or am- 
monia after it is swept. ' ' 

'' Yes," said Margaret, '' I learned 
about that in my sweeping lesson." 

'' When this room was cleaned," her 
grandmother went on, '' the curtains were 
taken down, and the pictures wiped off 
and put into the storeroom. The furniture 
was well dusted and put away also, and the 
bed all taken apart, the mattress beaten 
gently, the springs dusted and wiped off; 
the bed slats were washed in hot soap and 
water, and put away, too. Then the bed 



112 Saturday Mornings 

itself was taken to pieces and washed in 
warm soap-suds, because being white iron 
they could not hurt it. If it had been a 
wooden bed it would have been wiped with 
a damp cloth. And then, Margaret, what 
do you think? a brush dipped in turpen- 
tine was put in all the corners of the bed 
and the springs, so that if by any chance a 
little bug should have crept in there to 
hide, it would be driven out." 

Margaret looked disgusted. ^^ We don't 
have bugs in our beds," she said, indig- 
nantly. ' ' Nice, clean people never do. ' ' 

Her grandmother smiled. " Even a 
very nice, clean person may bring home a 
bug from a crowded street-car," she said. 
^' And if it happens to be on a coat which 
is thrown on a bed, it may crawl quickly 
into a corner without anybody's seeing it, 
and presently the bed will have half a dozen 
bugs in it. Of course a good housekeeper 
would never let them stay in a bed a single 
minute after she finds out they are there, 
and she always hunts occasionally, at least 
as often as every few months, so that she 



^ 



Housecleaning ; Cellar and Attic 113 

may be perfectly sure everything is all 
right. If ever you think you are perfectly 
safe, my dear, and do not look to make 
sure, you will be the very one to be sur- 
prised some day ! You must often put the 
mattress on a sheet on the floor, and look 
all along the edge and in the corners and 
under the ties. The spring must be painted 
with turpentine, especially in the hidden 
places, and so must the corners of the bed. 
It is a good plan to use only metal beds 
with iron spring frames, for bugs like wood 
much better; they seldom stay where 
there is none. If you ever find a bug, or the 
tiny black speck it makes, get the white of 
an egg and beat it with a teaspoonful of 
quicksilver, and paint everything with it, 
and you will have no more trouble. 

" After the bed is cleaned and taken 
down, the floor is to be swept twice over, 
and the -carpet taken away; the paper 
under it may be swept clean in the yard. 
The walls are to be swept down with a soft 
brush, or a broom covered with a duster. 
The closet is to be emptied entirely, the 



114 Saturday Mornings 

drawers, shelves, floor, and base-board 
washed well, and the closet floor washed 
also. The windows must be cleaned and all 
the woodwork washed in warm water with 
a little nice soap, and rinsed well. When 
all is fresh and the floor dry, the paper can 
be laid, the carpet put down, the furniture 
wiped again, the bed put together and 
made, the pictures hung, and the fresh 
curtains put up, if they are used in sum- 
mer, and the room will be thoroughly done. 
All rooms are alike in the way they are 
cleaned. First do the closets, remember, 
all the drawers as well as shelves; then, 
shutting this up, empty the room, and do 
walls, floor, paint, and windows. If there 
is a matting down, this must be wiped off 
with salted water, which freshens it. Now 
I think we can go down to the cellar for 
the next part ot the lesson." 

The cellar proved to be rather chilly, but 
they stayed long enough to learn a good 
many things about it. There were two 
rooms, one for the coal and wood, and one 
for vegetables and preserved fruit and 



Housecleaning ; Cellar and Attic 115 

such things. All these, Margaret was told, 
must be looked after. The fuel room 
should have several bins, one for kitchen 
coal, one for furnace coal, and one low 
one for wood; it was untidy to leave 
any of these lying in heaps on the floor. 
The vegetables had to be constantly looked 
over for fear any should decay, and so 
bring sickness to the family, who might 
never know why it came. The preserves 
must be examined, lest any begin to leak, 
and the whole place must be kept cool and 
dry by having a window open a little at the 
top, with a good bolt or a few nails to keep 
any one from opening it from the outside. 
The windows did not need to be washed 
quite as often as those up-stairs, but they 
should never be left grimy and dirty. 
'' A good housekeeper always keeps watch 
of her cellar," said the grandmother. 
" She sees that the air is fresh, the floor 
clean, the walls free from cobwebs, and 
that no rubbish is allowed to accumulate. 
The wood and coal must not get too low in 
the bins; the grocer's boxes must be kept 



116 Saturday Mornings 

chopped into kindling, and, most impor- 
tant of all, every cellar should have a good 
coat of whitewash every spring to make 
it all sweet and clean. ' ' 

Margaret said she thought she knew this 
part of her lesson now, and that cellars 
were not so very interesting. 

'^ Well, suppose we take the attic next," 
grandmother said, smiling; " that is, if 
you are really certain you can keep your 
own cellar clean and nice when you have 
one. ' ' Margaret promised to try. 

The attic was a nice, dusky room, with 
some old furniture, trunks, and boxes, 
rolls of carpet, and bags of pieces. It had 
a dry, comfortable sort of smell in the air. 
" I like attics," said Margaret. '' I mean 
to have a great big one some day, all full 
of interesting things, like the girls in story- 
books." 

'^ The more things in your attic the 
more trouble you will have to be a good 
housekeeper, ' ' said her grandmother. 
'' Let us sit down on this sofa for our 
lesson, and suppose that was really your 



I 



Housecleaning ; Cellar and Attic 117 

own attic. What would you do to put it 
in order and keep it so? " 

'' Well," said Margaret, thoughtfully, 
^^ I'd move everything out and sweep it; 
then I'd brush off the walls and wash the 
windows; then I'd arrange things — and 
then it would be done. ' ' 

'' Oh, no! " her grandmother replied. 
'^ That isn't half. I see you needed the 
lesson on the attic, as I thought. Now 
listen : 

' ' You see it is rather dark up here, and 
so moths love the place, and if it was left 
to them they would eat up all that is in 
the trunks. The first thing in cleaning 
an attic is to empty all the trunks, one at 
a time, and look everything over. There 
are pieces of clothing which may be used 
again which have to go outdoors on the 
line in the sunshine and be beaten, and 
furs, especially, require this done fre- 
quently. Your pretty little baby things are 
in one trunk, and those your mother wishes 
to keep always, so she airs them and re- 
folds the dresses so they will not get dis- 



118 



Saturday Mornings 



colored streaks by lying always one way; 
the flannels are aired, too, and folded in 
papers with perhaps a bit of camphor or a 
moth ball, though these are not as much 
protection as the constant airing and 
shaking is. 

' ' In that large trunk there are some old 
silk dresses, and such things, which are 
also to be kept. Moths do not touch silks, 
but these, too, must be taken out and 
shaken and refolded once in awhile to keep 
them from cracking in the places where 
they have laid. Once a year, at least, all 
trunks must be emptied, wiped out, and re- 
lined with fresh papers, the things aired 
and put back freshly. 

" If there are any clothes which are 
being kept which, after all, are not needed, 
it is always best to give them away before 
they are out of style or moth-eaten. It is 
wrong to keep things one does not want 
when so many are cold. One always keeps 
certain things like your mother's wedding- 
gown, and some handsome pieces of velvet, 
too valuable to give away, and other things 



Housecleaning ; Cellar and Attic 119 

which would be of no use to any one else ; 
but your father's old clothes, and your 
outgrown dresses, and my heavy winter 
coat which I shall not wear again, must all 
go before they are half-spoiled by lying. 

" You see there are several piece-bags 
hanging up; those we must go over, too. 
We always keep bits of our dresses to patch 
with, or to use in re-making them. But 
sometimes we keep the pieces long after 
the dress is gone, when perhaps some one 
would like them for patchwork, or to make 
a pincushion or needle-book out of. The 
pieces must be sorted often, the woollen 
ones put by themselves with moth balls, 
and the silk and cotton ones divided, some 
to keep, and some to give to anybody who 
needs them more than we do. 

a The roll of old carpet is to go away, 
too, this time to be made into a kitchen 
rug. Carpets must not be left in the attic 
or they will surely make a nice home for 
moth-families. The broken chairs are to 
go to-day to be mended, I heard your 
mother say this morning. Some she will 



120 Saturday Mornings 

use again, and the rest she will pass on to 
somebody who wants chairs and has not 
enough. This old sofa, of course, she will 
keep, because some day she will have it 
re-covered; it is a strong, good piece of 
furniture, and she knows we can use it. 

" The summer clothes are kept in those 
two large trunks under the window; in a 
few days they will go down-stairs, and the 
winter ones, all shaken and beaten on the 
clothes-line till they are fresh and clean, 
will be packed away carefully in their 
places after the trunks have had fresh 
paper put in them. Do you know how to 
put away winter clothes, by the way? '' 

Margaret said she did not think she did, 
so they stopped the lesson for a minute to 
put this in. 

*^ After the things are aired well, fold 
each dress or coat or suit of clothes up by 
itself, and pin it snugly in newspapers, 
which moths do not like. Tie a strong 
string around the bundle to lift it by, and 
paste a slip of paper on the top, and ^vrite 
on this plainly just what is inside. If you 



Housecleaning ; Cellar and Attic 121 

have anything very nice to put away, such 
as a broadcloth suit, put it in a new paste- 
board box and paste a strip of paper all 
around the edge of the cover; use good 
mucilage, and the moths cannot possibly 
get at it. Put furs in paper bags after they 
are clean, and hang them from the rafters. 
Hats and such things may go into boxes, 
and you can lay a paper over each box 
before putting on its cover, to keep the dust 
out. Summer clothes do not need so much 
care; just fold them neatly and put them 
in a nice clean trunk, and they will take 
care of themselves. Now do you think 
you know how to keep a cellar and attic 
in good order? Suppose you make up a 
rule to give me." 

Margaret thought a moment. ^^ Keep 
the cellar clean, ' ' she said at length, ^ ^ and 
give away the things in the attic. ' ' 

Her grandmother laughed. ^ ' Keep both 
the cellar and attic clean, and don't hoard 
uselessly," she corrected. 



CHAPTER IX 

LAUNDKY WORK 

^Maegaeet's teachers held a meeting 
before her next lesson. They could not 
decide whether she should be taught to 
wash and iron or not. 

Her Pretty Aunt said, '^ Certainly not! 
She will never need to know. Even on 
a desert island she will find some Woman 
Friday to do her laundry work ! " 

'' But," suggested her Other Aunt, 
'' suppose she had a very beautiful thin 
dress to be washed, and had a very poor 
laundress to do it who might spoil it; 
don't you think she would wish she knew 
how to do it herself? " 

*' Besides," said her mother, ^^ how- 
ever could she teach an ignorant servant 

122 



Laundry Work 123 

to wash and iron if she did not know 
how? " 

" Of course she must know," said her 
grandmother, sternly. " I will teach her 
myself. ' ' 

So on Friday night Margaret made up a 
bundle of clothes as she was told; '' sam- 
ples," grandmother called them, because 
there were some of every sort of thing 
found in a regular washing; these they 
took down to the laundry. 

" The first thing is to sort the clothes," 
the lesson began. '' Put the white, 
starched things in one pile; the bed and 
table linen in another; the flannels by 
themselves; the stockings by themselves; 
the handkerchiefs and colored things in 
two more piles. 

'' Many people do not soak clothes over 
night, and it is not necessary to do so, but 
I am going to teach you to do it because 
it is the easiest way. If you are ready, 
look over the white things first for spots. 
Coffee, tea, and fruit stains must have 
boiling water poured through them till they 



124 



Saturday Mornings 



disappear. Eust must be rubbed with 
lemon juice and salt and laid on a new, 
shiny tin in the sunshine till the spot dis- 
appears ; some people use acid, but this is 
apt to eat the cloth. Blood stains must be 
soaked in cold water ; get the handkerchief 
you had on your cut finger and put it in this 
pail. Now wet the white things only, rub 
on a little soap, and get out every spot; 
put them in nice rolls, the soapy side 
turned in, and lay them all in the warm 
water in these two tubs, clothing in one, 
and table and bed linen in the other — 
never put the two together. Do not soak 
the flannels or they will shrink; nor the 
colored things, or they will fade; nor the 
stockings. 

'^ The handkerchiefs, well soaped and 
rubbed and squeezed, go into a pail of 
water all alone ^ with a tablespoonf ul of 
kerosene to kill any germs of cold in the 
head which may be in one of them, and 
would spread to all the handkerchiefs. 
The oil boils out and does not smell after 
they are ironed. That is all for to-night. 



Laundry Work 125 

but be up bright and early in the morning, 
for only lazy people hang out their washing 
at noon/' 

The next day Margaret came into the 
laundry with her biggest apron and her 
sleeves rolled up and pinned to her shoul- 
ders, ready for work. 

' ' Flannels first, ' ' she was told. ' ' Draw 
two tubs of warm water, one just exactly as 
warm as the other. Put in some nice white 
soap and make a good suds, and then take 
it out and put in the flannels; rub and 
squeeze them with your hands till they are 
clean, but never rub them on the wash- 
board, or put any soap directly on them 
or they will grow hard and stiff; as soon 
as they are clean, wring them out and rinse 
them in the second water. The reason why 
they must be washed and rinsed in the 
same sort of water is that if they were 
dropped from cold to hot or hot to cold 
water they would shrink all up and be 
spoiled at once. A little ammonia or borax 
in the rinsing water makes them soft and 
white. You cannot take too much care in 



126 Saturday Mornings 

washing flannels, for they are expensive 
and easily spoiled; think how often your 
winter undervests are shrunken before they 
are half-worn, and how once Bridget 
spoiled a pair of beautiful new blankets 
she washed for the first time, all because 
the two waters were not just alike, and 
because she rubbed soap on them and made 
them hard and yellow. Now you may 
wring yours out with your hands and hang 
them out on the line. ' ' 

When Margaret came in again her grand- 
mother had put the white apron into the 
water the flannels had been rinsed in, for 
its first bath. She said it was still fresh and 
warm and soapy and ought not to be 
wasted. The first tubful, however, she had 
thrown away as useless any longer. She 
told Margaret to put a little more soap on 
the apron and gently rub it on the board, 
turning it over and over till it was clean ; 
then she dropped it in the wash-boiler, 
which her grandmother had filled with 
fresh water and put on the fire. The linen 
was washed in the same way, rubbing and 



Laundry Work 127 

turning it till it was all fresh, and putting 
it in the boiler. The water was allowed to 
boil up well for a moment, the clothes 
pushed down and turned around with a 
stick as they rose to the top. They were 
lifted out with the stick into a tub of fresh, 
hot water, and rinsed till all the soap was 
out, and dropped in a tub of cold water 
which had a little blueing in it. Here they 
were rinsed once more, and wrung out dry 
and then put out in the sunshine. 

Bridget had hung a low clothes-line for 
Margaret between two small trees, so she 
could easily reach it. The clothes-pins 
were in one of her aprons, in a pocket made 
by turning up the bottom almost half-way 
to the belt, so none could fall out. This 
apron was made of heavy ticking, and none 
of the water reached her dress as she car- 
ried out the wet things to the line. 

When she came in this second time she 
found her grandmother ready to make 
starch. As there were only a very few 
things to stiffen she measured a heaping 
tablespoonful of dry starch, wet it with 



128 Saturday Mornings 

just as much cold water, and added a cup 
of boiling water, with a half-teaspoon- 
ful of sugar, to make it extra nice and 
glossy. The white apron was dipped 
in this and wrung out; then more water 
was added till the starch was like milk, 
and the pillow-cases and gingham apron 
were dipped in. 

' ' I never starch table or bed linen, ' ' said 
her grandmother, " but you may, if you 
wish to, if you use very thin starch. I 
know a better way to make such things look 
nice, however, and when we iron I will 
teach it to you. Now we must finish the 
washing. Wash and rinse the stockings 
in hot water, but do not boil them; wash 
and rinse and boil the handkerchiefs by 
themselves. When these are all on the line, 
and you have made the laundry tidy, you 
can rest for an hour, while the irons get 
nice and hot, and then we will take the 
second half of the laundry lesson." 

The sunshine had made everything dry 
and sweet when Margaret brought in the 
clothes from the line and heaped them on 



Laundry Work 129 

the laundry table. She spread the nap- 
kins and pillow-cases out smoothly, and 
from a nice white bowl of clean water 
she sprinkled them, one at a time, and 
smoothed out the creases as her grand- 
mother showed her. " The fewer wrin- 
kles, the easier ironing," she said. Each 
was made into a tidy roll and laid in the 
basket again. The handkerchiefs were 
sprinkled also, and made into one roll and 
laid by them. The flannels were still damp, 
and so just ready to iron as they were, and 
so were the stockings. As the irons were 
hot, Margaret now spread the ironing-pad 
of flannel over the table, and laid the iron- 
ing-sheet very smoothly over it. She put 
the iron-stand on one corner on a square, 
white tile, so the heat would not burn 
the cloth underneath and got out a thick, 
soft holder. 

She also got out the ironing-board, be- 
cause the flannel petticoats were easier to 
manage on this than on the table. She 
tried the iron by holding it to her cheek, 
and found it quite warm. Then she wet 



130 



Saturday Mornings 



the tip of her finger, as she had seen 
Bridget do, and quickly touched it. It 
seemed just right, hot, but not burning, so 
she began on the stockings, and ironed 
them flat, on the right side, turning each 
one over and pressing both sides. She did 
not turn in the toes, because some of them 
needed to be darned, and whoever did it 
would have to turn each one back to see 
if there were any holes in it ; but she made 
them into pairs, folding each once, and 
hung them on the little clothes-horse stand- 
ing before the fire. 

The flannel skirts she slipped over the 
skirt-board, and ironed them by beginning 
at the hem and working toward the belt, 
pulling each one around the board to bring 
the unironed part up. These, too, she hung 
near the fire, because flannels take so long 
to grow perfectly dry. 

The table napkins were a real pleasure 
to do. Her grandmother taught her why 
they needed no starch — because if they 
were ironed over and over, with a good 
hot iron, first on one side and then on the 



Laundry Work 131 

other, they grew a little stiff, and became 
very glossy and beautiful, like satin, while 
if starch was used they easily got too stiff. 
These were folded very carefully indeed, 
so the edges exactly matched, and laid in a 
pile by themselves. 

By the time these were done the iron was 
again cool and had to be changed for the 
second time for a hot one. Linen, the 
grandmother explained, needed hot irons, 
but one should always be very careful not 
to have them so hot that there is any dan- 
ger of scorching, because linen is very ex- 
pensive, and easily ruined. 

The towels were ironed exactly as the 
napkins had been, on both sides, and again 
and again, till they were dry and shining. 
Then they were folded carefully, not in 
four narrow folds, but in three parts, so 
they would '' look generous," grandmother 
said. The side edges had to match ex- 
actly, and the lower edge had to be a tiny 
bit longer than the rest, so that when hung 
on the towel-rack it would be perfect. This 
took time, but when once Margaret learned 



132 



Saturday Mornings 



how they should look, she said it was no 
trouble. 

The white apron also took some time to 
do because it had to be polished, and the 
gatherings and ruffles were bothersome, 
but still it was done presently, and also 
the gingham apron, which was easier. The 
handkerchiefs were only play, but they had 
to be carefully folded, so the edges would 
be even. At last everything was done, and 
there was a whole clothes-horse full of 
beautiful clothes. It looked like a blossom- 
ing tree, all white and fragrant, and Mar- 
garet felt very proud and happy as she 
ran to call the family to come and admire. 

^^ I knew she could learn! " said her 
grandmother, nodding to her mother, as 
they all came in to look and praise the 
little laundress. 



CHAPTER X 



THE LINEN CLOSET; PANTRIES; POLISHING 

silver; the care of the refrigerator; 
cleaning the lamps 



'' I THINK," said the Pretty Aunt one 
day, '' we must be coming to the end of 
the Saturday morning lessons. We have 
had the kitchen and dining-room, the bed- 
rooms, halls, and parlors, the bathroom, 
cellar, attic, and vestibule. I really can't 
think of anything else to teach Margaret 
about the care of the house." 

^> Why," exclaimed the Other Aunt, '' I 
can! I can think of five or six things you 
have not said a word about ; all important 
ones, too! " 

^ ' How nice ! ' ' laughed the Pretty Aunt, 
' ^ because now you can give the lesson ! ' ' 

Margaret had felt disappointed when 

133 



134 Saturday Mornings 

she thought the lessons were over, for she 
liked to learn something new each week; 
so when she was told to put on a clean 
apron and be ready in half a minute, she 
ran off in a hurry. 

Her aunt was in the upper hall when she 
appeared, with the door of the linen closet 
open, and she told Margaret they would 
begin here. 

' ' This little room is the one good house- 
keepers are especially fond of," she began. 
" Clean, white linen, polished and beauti- 
ful, is a joy to look at and handle, and 
every woman is proud if she has a quantity, 
all nicely kept. Let us begin with the 
shelves, taking them in order, and see 
what is on each. ' ' 

The top one held blankets, each pair 
folded together smoothly and pinned up in 
a clean, strong piece of white cotton cloth, 
and labelled. The first label read, '' Guest- 
room blankets," and when they were 
opened there lay a fresh, soft, fleecy pair, 
with a lovely border of pale pink, and 
edges of broad pink ribbon. 



» 



The Linen Closet 135 

'' This is your mother's very best pair 
of blankets, ' ' began her aunt. ' ' They are 
cut in two and bound alike at each end, you 
see; they have never been washed or 
cleaned yet, so they are still very white 
and soft. By and by they will begin 
to look a little soiled, and then they will 
be cleaned perhaps, once or twice, and 
presently they will be washed, and they 
will not be nearly as nice as they are now, 
though well-washed blankets should still be 
fleecy and white. ' ' 

^ ' ' Soft, warm water, with suds of white 
soap,' " murmured Margaret, reviewing 
her laundry lesson; " ' rub with your 
hands, rinse in the same sort of water as 
you used in washing, with a little borax or 
ammonia, and they will look like new.' " 

' ' Splendid ! ' ' said her aunt. ' ' I see you 
can wash blankets to perfection. But even 
so, some day there will be new ones for 
the guest-room, and these will be on one of 
the family beds. The next two or three 
bundles, you see, are clean, washed blan- 
kets, in pairs, laid away till they are 



136 Saturday Mornings 

needed. All blankets have to be put on the 
line in the sunshine frequently whether 
they are washed or not, or they may be 
eaten by moths. 

" Here are a few clean comfortables 
next, on this second shelf, done up like the 
blankets. These have to be washed, too, 
and are more difficult to manage than blan- 
kets, because they are so heavy ; they have 
to be aired often to keep them sweet, for 
the cotton holds odors easily. Then come 
the white spreads, the heavy Marseilles in 
one pile, the lighter ones in another, and 
the single ones and double ones kept sepa- 
rate. 

'^ The third shelf holds towels, you see. 
This pile is for the best ones ; notice how 
beautifully they are ironed and folded, and 
how the embroidered initials stand out. 
The ordinary bedroom towels come next; 
see how many your mother has, and how 
each kind is hj itself: the hemstitched 
ones in one pile, the plain huckaback in 
another; those with colored borders in 
this one, and the bath towels in that. Any 



The Linen Closet 137 

one could come in and get a towel in the 
dark, sure of taking just the right one. 
You must remember always to keep your 
own towels just this way ; too many people 
mix them in in any careless fashion, and do 
not take the trouble to have them arranged 
neatly, but it's the best way to do. 

" The sheets and pillow-cases are in 
these deep drawers. This top one has the 
double sheets and the best linen ones; 
notice how they lie in piles, each kind by 
itself, just like the towels. They are all 
marked on the narrow edge, and so they 
can be recognized at a glance; the large 
sheets have your mother's full name. In 
this next drawer are the single bed sheets, 
marked with her first initials, and her last 
name. The servants ' sheets have only her 
three initials. You see how easy it is to 
tell which is which. The pillow-cases are 
marked in the same way, and put in piles. 
You must be sure when you have a washing 
to put away that you do not put the clean 
things on top of each pile, and then take 
them off again to use at once; put things 



138 Saturday Mornings 

on top and take them off the bottom of the 
pile, so they will all be used in turn. Now 
for the table-linen. ' ' 

This was in another drawer, and Mar- 
garet exclaimed when she saw how beauti- 
ful it was. The cloths were like satin, the 
napkins which matched lay in dozens by 
them; the every-day cloths and napkins 
were by themselves, and the small lunch- 
cloths had a pile of their own. The doilies 
were in a smaller drawer, all in piles, too, 
and the pretty centrepieces were fastened 
around stiff paper made into rolls. 

' ' If you ever have lovely table-linen you 
will want to keep it nicely, ' ' said the aunt. 
'' I think it is high time you had some, too. 
I believe in the old German custom of mak- 
ing a linen-chest for each girl; so learn 
your lesson well, and when your birthday 
comes who knows what you'll get? Per- 
haps a lunch-cloth or some embroidered 
napkins! " 

^^ I'd like some towels, too," Margaret 
said, soberly. ^^ I guess I'd like to have 
some linen every birthday." 



The Linen Closet 139 

<< Very well, I'll remember," said her 
aunt as they closed the drawers. " And 
when you really begin to fill your chest I 
will make you some pretty bags of lavender 
to lay among your sheets and pillow-cases 
to make them smell sweet. We will go 
down-stairs now." 

The pantry shelves were looked over 
next ; in the china-closet in the dining-room 
everything was in order ; the dishes neatly 
arranged on white paper, with pretty 
scalloped flouncings hanging over the front. 
The plates were piled in sets, the platters 
were together, the glasses and small 
dishes on the sides of the closet where the 
shelves were short. There was really 
nothing to be done here, so they went into 
the kitchen. 

The pantry where the pots and pans 
stood had rather dingy papers, and they 
decided to have a good cleaning. They 
took everything off and washed the shelves 
with warm water and borax and wiped 
them dry, and put on fresh papers. The 
tins and dishes which were seldom used, 



140 Saturday Mornings 

were then arranged on the highest shelf, 
and those which were used every day were 
put lower down. The little things, such 
as the skimmer, the small sieve, the egg- 
beater, and the spoons, were hung on nails 
driven into the edge of the shelf which 
was over the baking-table in the kitchen, 
where stood also the cups, bowls, and 
plates used in cooking, within easy reach. 
When they were done, the aunt said, 
'' Always watch for ants in the pantry, 
and roaches and water-bugs in the sink. 
Ants hate borax, so you can put that on the 
shelves in all the corners, and it will help 
keep them away. Koaches come to the sink 
for food, and you must see to it that they 
do not find it. Keep it perfectly clean and 
scalded out, especially at night, and never 
let the sink-basket have any crumbs in it. 
If, in spite of' everything, the bugs do 
come, put insect powder on the corners of 
all the woodwork and use washing-soda 
to flush the drain every day, and they will 
get discouraged and leave your house for 
somebody else's, where there is something 



The Linen Closet 141 

in the sink for them. Now for the refrig- 
erator. ' ' 

Margaret helped empty this entirely, set- 
ting the things in it on the table, and put- 
ting the ice in a large dish. They looked 
underneath at the pan into which the ice 
drained and found it half-full, so they 
emptied it. Then the lesson began as usual. 

'' You see all these little covered bowls 
and plates with bits of food on them. We 
never put nice china dishes in a refriger- 
ator, for fear of breaking them; this 
heavy, yellow ware is just the thing, and a 
saucer can go over each bowl. We do not 
put anything in which has a strong odor, 
such as onions or cheese, or they would 
make everything taste like themselves. 
Butter must be in a covered crock, and milk 
in bottles with a tight top. Warm food 
must never go in, or it will waste the ice. 
Let us look in the top ; you see there is a 
nice piece of ice, all covered up with a 
bit of old blanket, so it will last. You must 
watch and see that you do not take more 
ice than you really need and use it econom- 



142 Saturday Mornings 

ically. Some people never cover it at all, 
because it keeps the food colder if it is left 
so, but often it is unnecessary; there may 
be little food in the box, and that would 
keep as well if it were not quite as cold. 
Now you may get a basin of water, two 
clean cloths, and the borax, and I will show 
you how to clean a refrigerator. ' ' 

Margaret put a tablespoonful of borax in 
the water, rung out her cloth, and washed 
out all the inside of the great box, poking a 
little stick into the corners, and scrubbing 
the shelves thoroughly, as well as the sides 
and bottom. Then she wiped them dry 
and the food was put in again neatly. 
There had been a small pan of charcoal in 
one corner, and this was emptied on a 
paper and the pan refilled from a bag 
near by and put back. 

' ' What do }^u put black charcoal in the 
clean box for? " Margaret asked, curiously. 

^ ' Because it dislikes a disagreeable odor, 
and destroys it at once," her aunt replied. 
'' We change this pan every few days be- 
cause it will take up only so much, while 



The Linen Closet 143 

fresh charcoal will keep everything sweet 
and nice; Bridget burns up what is not 
fresh, putting it in the fire when she wants 
to broil or toast, for it makes a clear fire 
without flame. It only costs a few cents 
for a large bagful, and we can always have 
it on hand. 

" Remember to wash out your refrig- 
erator at least three times a week. This is 
very important, indeed; if you forget it 
somebody in the family may be very ill. 
If you have not time to wash it out and 
still sweep the parlors, let the parlors go ! " 

Just as they finished they noticed the 
garbage pail outside the door and took a 
look into it. It was nearly empty, so Mar- 
garet got a dipper of boiling water and a 
handful of washing-soda and put them in, 
as her aunt told her, to keep the pail from 
getting greasy and sour. ^ ' The better the 
housekeeper the less she has in her gar- 
bage pail, and the cleaner it is kept," she 
said, as she put back the cover. 

" We have still one pleasant thing and 
one disagreeable thing to do before we are 



144 Saturday Mornings 

done this morning; which would you 
rather take first? " asked the aunt. 

Margaret said she thought she would 
keep the pleasant one to finish off with. 

' ' Then get a newspaper, ' ' was the reply, 
' ' and spread it over the table, first of all. ' ' 

" That's the way most kitchen lessons 
seem to begin, ' ' said Margaret, as she took 
one from the paper drawer. ^^ ' First get 
a newspaper.' " 

" And very sensible, too," smiled her 
aunt. ^^ It saves so much work if every- 
thing can be carried away and the table 
left clean at once. You may go to the 
closet and bring the box of things for the 
lamps while I bring the large one from the 
sitting-room. ' ' 

The box proved to have in it two cloths, 
one of flannel, and a white one free from 
lint; a pair of scissors; a round brush 
with a wire handle, and a piece of soap. 

The lamp was taken to pieces, filled with 
kerosene from the can kept in the cellar- 
way, and wiped off nicely. The charred 
wick was rubbed and trimmed, and the 



The Linen Closet 145 

corners rounded a little to keep them from 
throwing the flame against the sides of the 
chimney and breaking it. The glass chim- 
ney was put in a basin of warm water with 
soap-suds, and washed with the flannel 
cloth, rubbed with the round brush, and 
wiped dry with the white cloth. Whenever 
a new wick was put in a lamp, Margaret 
was told, the burner should be boiled with 
washing-soda to free it from clogging oil, 
and if a wick ever smelled it was to be 
cooked a few minutes in vinegar and dried, 
and it would then be all right again. When 
the lamp was put back they gathered up 
the things used, and put the newspaper 
with the kindling for the kitchen fire. 

'' Now for the pleasant thing," Mar- 
garet said, as she carried away the oil-can 
and washed her hands. " I don't think 
doing lamps is very nice work." 

' ' No, it is not, ' ' her aunt replied ; ' ' but 
it is certainly very nice to have a clear, 
strong light to read by at night, and you 
cannot have that unless the lamp is per- 
fectly clean, so the work is worth doing. 



146 



Saturday Mornings 



Look now on the closet shelf once more 
and find another box with the silver polish, 
while I go for the basket from the side- 
board. ' ' 

Once more a newspaper was spread on 
the table, and they set out the box of pow- 
der, a small flannel cloth, a little saucer of 
water, a soft brush, and a chamois. They 
dipped the flannel into the water, then into 
the powder, and rubbed the pieces of silver 
well, scrubbing them with the brush, except 
where they were perfectly smooth, as in 
the bowls of the spoons. Wlien it was done 
they washed it in hot water, wiped it dry, 
and polished it well with the chamois, and 
it shone like new. 

As they put it away again they counted 
it carefully, using the list which was kept 
in the bottom of the basket; every piece 
was there, fortunately, so no time was lost 
in hunting for it. 

' ' Do you count the silver every time it is 
cleaned? '' Margaret inquired, as she took 
up the basket to put it away. 

^^ Every single time," said her aunt, 



i 



The Linen Closet 147 

firmly. ^^ It must always be done. One 
can find a missing spoon when it first dis- 
appears, but not after it has been gone a 
month or more. " • 

^' We are all done/' Margaret said, 
cheerfully, as they put the kitchen to 
rights. " Won't Bridget be pleased when 
she sees her clean refrigerator and pantry, 
and the nice shiny silver, — and the gar- 
bage pail too ! That looks just as nice as 
can be ! " 

'' Of course it does," said her aunt. 
" Everything looks nice when it is clean." 



CHAPTER XI 

MARKETING AND KEEPING ACCOUNTS 

' ' I THINK it must be my turn to give you 
your lesson to-day," said Margaret's 
Pretty Aunt at breakfast-time, ' ' because I 
have thought of something none of your 
other teachers have as much as mentioned. 
You can get ready as soon as possible." 

'' Which apron? " asked the little girl, 
curiously. 

^^ No apron at all," said her aunt; 
'' your hat and coat. We are going a- 
marketing. How can anybody be a good 
housekeeper without knowing how to buy 
a dinner? " 

Before they set out they went to the 
kitchen with a small pad and pencil, and 
looked into the refrigerator to see what 
they had already, to know what they 

148 



Marketing and Keeping Accounts 149 

would need to buy. There proved to be 
several things which would be used for 
luncheon, and then they asked Bridget what 
she wanted them to get. She said she was 
out of flour and granulated sugar, and 
would want raisins and coffee and tea, be- 
side a vegetable for dinner and some let- 
tuce and meat. They planned the meals 
together, and decided on having a dessert 
of apple-tart, made with apples and cream, 
and these were added to the list Margaret 
wrote down so nothing would be forgotten ; 
then they set out. 

They stopped at the grocery first, and 
Margaret was told to order a seven-pound 
bag of sugar. While the clerk was getting 
it the aunt explained that this was a better 
way to buy it than to get it loose, as then 
it would be sent home in a paper bag, which 
might break and spill it ; then, too, the nice 
cotton bag in which it would come home 
would be just the thing to strain jelly 
through. The flour was also ordered in a 
bag, this time a large one. 

'' Some things we buy in small quantities 



150 Saturday Mornings 

because there is danger of waste in the 
kitchen if there is an unlimited supply at 
hand. But flour is needed every day, and 
never wasted, so we buy a good deal of that 
at a time. If we had a very large family 
we would buy a whole barrel at once, and 
so save a little money ; as it is, the big bag 
does very well for us. Now for coffee; 
tell the'clerk to give you his very best Java 
and Mocha mixed^ in a tin can. We will 
take it browned, but not ground. ' ' 

^^ I thought Bridget always browned the 
coffee,'' said Margaret, who remembered 
the delicious smell which often had filled 
the house when the coffee came from the 
oven. 

^ ^ So she did, ' ' her aunt explained, ^ ' un- 
til we found she would sometimes burn just 
a few grains each time, which made the 
whole taste burned. Now we buy it in a 
can, only a pound or two at a time, and of 
a man who has just had it browned for 
him. We keep the tin closely shut always 
so the odor cannot escape, and grind each 
morning only as much as we need, and have 



Marketing and Keeping Accounts 151 

this heated very hot just before the water 
is added, and that gives it the same fresh 
odor you remember. It is the easiest way 
to manage, though, of course, freshly 
roasted coffee is the best of all. But re- 
member always to get a good quality in 
buying, for poor coffee is not fit to drink. 
Order the tea, when the clerk is ready, 
and get that also in a package, because it 
is cleaner and fresher that way. You can 
pay anything you like for tea, from thirty 
cents a pound to about two dollars, but 
your mother gets a black tea without a bit 
of green mixed in it for from sixty to 
eighty cents, and buys it in half-pound 
packages. What is next on the list? " 

^^ Raisins,'' said Margaret. 

'*' Well, order those in a paper box, the 
kind which come already seeded, and when 
you get them home, take them out of the 
box and shut them up in a glass jar with a 
tight top, to keep them fresh. The vege- 
tables come now, but before we buy those 
you must put down in this little book what 
we have bought already, with the price of 



152 Saturday Mornings 

each article opposite. I could wait till we 
got home, but I am afraid you may forget 
the cost of things, because you are not 
used to them. ' ' 

She handed Margaret a cunning little 
book and a tiny pencil, and showed her how 
to find the right month and day printed 
at the top of the page, and to put down 
under a column headed '' Groceries," just 
what they had bought so far and what each 
thing cost. After this they crossed the 
shop to the place where the vegetables and 
fruit were piled, and looked these over. 

The apples were of all kinds, sweet and 
sour, big and little, red and green. Mar- 
garet said she would take the biggest red 
ones for the apple-tart. 

'^ No, those are not cooking apples, they 
are meant for the table," her aunt told 
her. ^' And do 'not take the yellow ones, 
because they are sweet and only good for 
baking. Take a nice green apple, not too 
large, because the smaller ones do just as 
well and cost less. Let us get half a peck 
of those greenings. We want oranges for 



Marketing and Keeping Accounts 153 

breakfast, too, though Bridget forgot to 
say so. Can you pick those out, do you 
think? " 

There were a good many boxes of these, 
some with rough skins, some with smooth, 
some with little bunches at the end. These 
last, her aunt explained to the little girl, 
were seedless and rather too dry for break- 
fast, though very nice for dinner. " The 
rough-skinned ones are light, as you will 
see if you lift one, so they would have little 
juice. Choose a heavy one of medium size 
and a rather smooth skin; but do not get 
those which are a very light yellow, for 
they may be sour.'^ 

The vegetables had to be looked over 
carefully. Spinach proved withered, so 
they passed it by; the cauliflower had tiny 
black spots on it; the green string beans 
would not snap as they should when they 
were bent; but they found a large egg 
plant, with a fresh, smooth skin, which 
they took. The lettuce was all dark green, 
with thick strong leaves, and the aunt said 
it would never do; lettuce must be in 



154 Saturday Mornings 

heads, like cabbage, and pale green. In- 
stead they chose some chicory with a 
white centre, which seemed crisp and newly 
gathered. All these things were written 
down in Margaret's account-book under 
" Fruits " and ^^ Vegetables." 

A nice dairy was not far from the 
grocery, and there they ordered a little 
bottle of cream and put this down in the 
book before they went on to the meat mar- 
ket. As they entered this shop her aunt 
said the lesson here was so long it would 
take years to learn it, and they would only 
take the a, b, c, of it in one day. 

^ ' Buying good meat means learning day 
after day," she explained. '' However, 
there are some things you can learn this 
morning, and one is to be sure you buy in a 
clean place. Look around the floor and 
see whether the "sawdust is fresh; notice 
the odor of the place and whether it is dis- 
agreeable or not ; look at the counter, too, 
and be sure it is white and freshly wiped 
off ; and above all, see whether the meat is 
kept in the ice-box at the back of the shop. 



Marketing and Keeping Accounts 155 

not hung up on nails, or left lying care- 
lessly about. Don't buy any meat which 
has been hanging or lying around; insist 
that it comes from the box. ' ' 

^^ But I can't think of the kinds of meat 
there are if I don't see them," Margaret 
said, anxiously. 

^ ' You will learn, ' ' the aunt smiled. ' ' I 
am sure you will never be willing to eat 
meat which you are not certain is clean. 
Then look well at what the butcher brings 
out to show you. Beef ought to be firm, 
clear red and white, and not streaked with 
little lines; mutton must not be too fat; 
veal not too young — you can tell when it 
is because then it will be very small. 
Bacon must not be too lean nor too salt, 
and cut as thin as a wafer. Fish must be 
fresh, with nice, clear eyes. Chickens too 
often are buried in a barrel of chopped ice 
for weeks, and come out blue and clammy ; 
such are not fit to eat. Suppose we buy 
a pair of roasting chickens this morning, 
and then you will see how they ought to 
look.'' 



156 Saturday Mornings 

The butcher brought out a pair which 
were yellow and dry, showing they had 
not been covered with ice. The aunt bent 
down the breastbone to see if they were 
tender, and showed the little girl that if 
it had been too stiff to bend she would have 
known by that that they would not do. She 
also looked inside to see if there was a 
good deal of fat, for this, too, was a sign 
of age. She said they had few pin-feath- 
ers, were firm and plump, and the feet 
were clean, so she was quite sure they 
would be good, and told the butcher to send 
them home, and not to forget the giblets. 

^ ' Chicken liver gravy ! ' ' Margaret ex- 
claimed at this. '' I like your lessons, 
auntie ! ' ' 

After they reached home and their things 
were put away the account-book was 
brought out again, and a lesson given in 
that. Margaret had to listen carefully, 
for it seemed rather difficult at first. 

^^ It is best to know always how much 
you are going to spend on your table every 
week," her aunt began. '' At first you 



Marketing and Keeping Accounts 157 

may spend too much or too little, but by 
looking over your book you can tell in a 
moment where the trouble lies, and the 
next week you can make it right. Some 
things cost a great deal, such as turkeys, or 
strawberries too early in the season, or 
certain fancy groceries, and by seeing just 
where your money has gone you can re- 
member the next time not to get these. 
Look at the different columns in your book. 
One says Groceries, the next. Vegetables; 
then Fruits ; Milk and Cream ; Butter and 
Eggs; Meat; Fish; Wages; Incidentals. 
You can put down under these exactly 
what you spend each day, and when the 
month is over you can put down in another 
book what each has amounted to. Let me 
show you : 

^^ Suppose when you add up your col- 
umns in your day-book you find at the end 
of the month you have spent twelve dollars 
for groceries, fifteen for meat, four for 
vegetables, three for fruit, and so on. 
You simply open your second book at the 
right month and put down what the whole 



158 



Saturday Mornings 



has been ; the next month you do the same 
thing under the new date, and so on. At 
the end of the year you do not have to go 
over all the little sums spent each day, 
but by looking in the right book imder each 
month you can see exactly what all the 
meat cost and all the vegetables, and so 
on. If your October bill for meat was 
larger than it ought to have been and more 
than it was in September or November, 
you can look back and see just why, if you 
care to. Under Incidentals you put all 
your car-fares spent in shopping for the 
house, and such things as dust-cloths, or 
new kitchen tins. When the last of Decem- 
ber comes you can see all you spent during 
the whole year by adding what each month 
came to, and know exactly how much it 
costs you to live, and you can plan to spend 
more or less next year, as you think best. 
That is not hard to understand, is it? " 

'^ No," said Margaret, ^^ not to under- 
stand, but you see I am afraid I will forget 
to put things down, and then I will not 
know after all what I spent." 



Marketing and Keeping Accounts 159 

^ ' But you must put them down at once, ' ' 
her aunt said. '' Either taking a pencil 
with you to market, or writing them down 
as soon as you come home. You will soon 
learn, and you will like the plan more and 
more. It is so nice to know exactly where 
the money went, day by day. ' ' 

' ' Sometimes the grocer has a little book 
to put things down, too," said the little 
girl. ^ ' If he has a book why do I have to 
have one? '' 

" Because he may make a mistake, for 
one thing, ' ' her aunt replied, ' ' and because 
if you have him put things down and do 
not do it too, you spend more than you 
think, and grow extravagant. You can pay 
each day, if you prefer, or once a week, or 
once a month; some people like one way, 
and some another about this, but you 
should always keep your own accounts, 
anyway, and know what you have had and 
how much, and what it cost ; and at the end 
of each month you must copy off the result 
of adding your columns, and see what the 
expenses of the month have come to, and so 



160 Saturday Mornings 

at the end of the year. That's the way a 
good housekeeper does! " 

''Well," said Margaret, ''then I will 
do that way, too, even if it is some 
trouble. ' ' 

" That's right," said her aunt. " If 
you do, I'll give you the loveliest set of 
account-books and the prettiest silver pen- 
cil I can buy when Christmas comes." 

' ' Oh, I truly, truly will ! ' ' Margaret ex- 
claimed. " I'll put down every single 
penny. ' ' 



CHAPTER XII 



THE DAY S WORK 



It happened that just as Margaret was 
finishing her Saturday morning lessons 
Bridget had to go away for a few days, and 
the last lesson of all, which was given by 
her mother, was really a sort of review of 
what she had learned, such as she had in 
her school lessons. 

It was hardly more than six o'clock in 
the morning when the little girl woke and 
jumped out of bed. She dressed softly so 
that she should not wake any one, and took 
her bed to pieces and set her closet door 
open, as she had learned in her Bedroom 
lesson. She threw up the windows and 
hung up her night-dress, and then left the 
room, closing the door behind her. 

Her mother met her in the hall, and they 

161 



162 



Saturday Mornings 



went down-stairs together, tying on their 
clean gingham aprons as they went. The 
honse was all shut up of course, so they 
opened the front doors, raised the shades 
in the parlors, and opened the windows a 
little to change the air. In the kitchen the 
fire was burning, shut up as they had left 
it the night before, and they first closed it 
to shake it down, and then opened the 
drafts and put on fresh coal, as Margaret 
had learned when she studied about the 
range. Wliile the fire was burning up she 
pinned a little shawl about her head and 
swept off the front steps and sidewalk, 
and came in all glowing from the cold air. 
By this time the fire was hot and bright, 
and the cereal was put on to cook in the 
double boiler, the kettle filled with fresh 
water and put on to boil for coffee. Her 
mother said she^ would stay out in the 
kitchen and make muffins for breakfast 
while the other rooms were put in order, 
so Margaret went into the parlors and 
sitting-room and straightened the chairs, 
put away books and papers, and dust- 



The Day's Work 163 

ing a little here and there, leaving the 
regular dusting until later in the day. 
The windows were now shut, and the rooms 
looked very tidy, so she went to the din- 
ing-room to prepare that for breakfast. 

She brushed up the crumbs, aired the 
room, and put it in order. She arranged 
the doilies on the table, one under each 
plate, with a round of felt under that, laid 
the silver, put on her mother's tray with 
the cups and saucers, set the tumblers and 
napkins around, and the plates with the 
finger-bowls and fruit-knives, and the 
bread and butter plates with the spreaders. 
She* filled the salts freshly, and last of all 
put on a vase of flowers. Then she took 
the cereal dishes, platter, and plates out 
to heat in the oven. 

She found her mother was getting ready 
the eggs and other things for breakfast, 
and she need not help, so she carried into 
the dining-room the butter balls and put 
them around; filled the finger-bowls and 
tumblers with cold water and the coffee- 
cups with hot; arranged the fruit on the 



164 Saturday Mornings 

sideboard, and put cream into the pitcher 
on the tray as well as in another pitcher 
for the cereal. By the time breakfast was 
ready she had on her white apron and had 
washed her hands, and when the family 
came down she was ready to show them 
all what a well-trained waitress she was. 

'' Do sit down with us/' her father 
begged. " You have done so much al- 
ready ! ' ' But Margaret felt a little proud 
that she knew her waiting lesson so well, 
and said she would rather not. She really 
enjoyed moving very quietly around the 
table, bringing in and taking out things, 
passing everything to the left, and laying 
down plates at the right, and generally 
remembering just what she had been 
taught. 

After all had finished she ate her own 
breakfast, and found she had been up so 
long and worked so much that it tasted 
twice as good as usual. When she had 
finished she put on her gingham apron 
again and cleared the table. She took up 
the crumbs carefully and used the carpet- 



The Day's Work 



165 



sweeper all over the rug. She scraped and 
piled the dishes in nice, neat piles, and, 
drawing the hot water, she washed and 
wiped them all nicely, and put them away. 
She swept the kitchen, wiped off the tables, 
shut up the range and washed out the dish- 
towels exactly as her grandmother had 
taught in the lesson she gave on the 
kitchen. Then she went up-stairs. 

Her grandmother, mother, and aunts had 
been afraid she would get too tired with 
such a long day's work as she had planned 
to do, and they had made their own beds, 
but they left Margaret's room for her 
for fear she would be disappointed. She 
closed the windows first, and while the 
room warmed she made the bathroom 
neat, washed and wiped out the tub and 
scrubbed off the wash-stand. 

Her room was put in beautiful order, 
to her closet and shoe-bag, and she even 
stopped to put a clean cover on the bureau 
and dust nicely, to show she had not for- 
gotten a single thing. The halls and par- 
lors had to be thoroughly dusted now, but 



166 Saturday Mornings 

as none of them needed sweeping it did not 
take very long, and there was still time to 
go to market. She got out her jacket and 
hat, took her pencil, account-book, and 
kitchen pad, and went out to see what was 
in the refrigerator. Here she had to stop, 
for Bridget had gone away in such a 
hurry she had quite forgotten to wash this 
out and arrange it properly, so on went 
the gingham apron again, and out came 
all the things from the box. She gave it 
a good scrubbing with warm water and 
borax, and put in a fresh dish of charcoal 
before she put back the ice and dishes of 
food. Then she got her pad again, and 
with her mother's help, planned the meals 
and wrote down what she must buy. 

The walk to the grocery and meat mar- 
ket was pleasant, and Margaret quite en- 
joyed ordering the vegetables, chops, fruit, 
and fish, which were needed, and watched 
to see if she was getting fresh things and 
good measure, and wrote down the prices 
as though she had been an old house- 
keeper instead of a new one. 



I 



The Day^s Work 167 

When she got back again she found there 
was an hour until lunch, and she at once 
wiped off the shelves in the pantry and 
put fresh papers on them and arranged 
the tins in a more orderly way than she 
found them. By the time she had finished 
her Pretty Aunt came out to help get lunch- 
eon, and together they laid the table and 
got the meal. She put on her waiting- 
apron again, when it was ready, but this 
time she sat down with the family because 
her mother said she must surely be tired. 

Her grandmother insisted on helping 
with the dishes, and watched with pride 
when afterwards Margaret poured boiling 
water down the sink after laying a bit of 
washing-soda over the drain, and scrubbed 
off all her tables until they shone, and 
blacked her range until it was like a mirror. 
^ ' You surely are going to make a wonder- 
ful housekeeper ! ' ' she said. 

Margaret laughed as she took off her 
apron. '' But I just love to do things, 
grandmother, ' ' she replied, as she went up- 
stairs. 



168 Saturday Mornings 

Bridget always found that she had an 
liour or two to rest in the afternoon after 
her work was done, and so did the little 
girl, but after she had taken a walk and 
read in a new book for a time, she sud- 
denly remembered that the silver needed 
cleaning, and she might surprise the family 
at dinner with it all polished. She got 
it out and rubbed it well, delighted to see 
how quickly it grew bright. As she fin- 
ished her mother came into the kitchen 
with her Other Aunt, and said they meant 
to help get the dinner. 

The mother looked around her. 
" Everything is very nice," she said. 
" The sink is clean, and so is the pan- 
try, and so are all the dishes. The 
range is bright; the dish-towels are 
washed; the dining-room is in order. I 
noticed as I carae through the other rooms 
that the bedrooms, bathroom, and parlors 
have all been looked after to-day, too. 
Margaret, I do believe you are as good 
a housekeeper as I am already." 

^^Well," said the little girl, thought- 



The Day's Work 169 

fully, '' I didn't sweep any to-day, nor 
wash any windows; I didn't shine the 
faucets in the bathroom, either, because I 
forgot them till this minute. I didn't have 
time to oil the floors in the hall this morn- 
ing — I only brushed it up; and I haven't 
looked at the cellar or the attic at all." 

Her mother laughed. ' ' But nobody does 
the whole house from top to bottom every 
single day," she said. " We sweep twice 
a week, only, and we wash windows when 
they need washing, not all the time. The 
attic and cellar are to be kept in order, 
but not put in order daily, you know. The 
really good housekeeper does a little put- 
ting to rights all the time, and every day 
she takes a certain part of the house and 
makes it clean, but she never tries to do 
more in one day than belongs to that one. 
To know how to keep a house nice is quite 
as necessary as to know how to make it so. 
The most important thing of all is knowing 
what you have learned to-day — to quietly 
go through the work, taking one thing after 
another, each in its turn, and to do all 



170 



Saturday Mornings 



well, without hurry or worry. To be able 
to do this is to make housework pleasant. ' ' 

'' Well," said Margaret, earnestly, '' I 
like to keep house. When I am a woman 
I mean to have the nicest, cleanest house 
in all the world ! ' ' 

'' Suppose you help me keep this one 
nice till then! " said her mother. 



THE END. 



ISAfi281l0t> 



■ ,^-^Sp:f LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




